Alphabet Soup
by Nicktrugs
Summary: Inspired by InfinitX's NaruSaku Drabbles. Here is a KakaSaku story, exploring the two throughout the alphabet. Most chapeters are rated T, please check each chapter for Mature ratings warnings.
1. A Apartment

Inspired by InfinitX's NaruSaku Drabbles. Here is a KakaSaku fic, exploring the two throughout the alphabet. 

NOTE: It will not be in alphabetical order. And Sakura is over 18.

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I claim to own, Naruto and all of its characters.

A - Apartment

Sakura plopped down on her sofa to take a quick breather. Naruto had helped her move all of her belongings into her new apartment the week before, and she had spent the last seven days unpacking between shifts at the hospital. 

She rolled her head to the side and took a look at the last box. It lay open on her living room floor.

"The bedroom or living room? Where should you go?"

She stared at the box awhile more, and then slid her eyes across the room to her bookshelf. There was enough room on the middle shelf for her entire collection. But, was she ready to come out of the closet and admit that she was just as perverted as the rest of her team?

"Screw it," she muttered. "I'm not hiding them under my bed anymore."

Sakura moaned as she stood up from the sofa, and proceeded to stretch her arms over her head, arching her back to improve the stretch. One more box, and then she would be fully moved in to her first apartment.

With a short sigh, she made her way to the box. Sakura grabbed one of the flaps and dragged it to her bookshelf. She bent down and pulled out three brightly colored books: one orange, one red and one green. She slid them onto the shelf. She bent down and picked up the rest of Jiraiya's dirty novels. A self-satisfied grin spread across her face as she looked at the seven brightly colored books that stood beside her Team Seven and Team Kakashi pictures. There was even enough room for Jariaya's new book that was coming out next week.


	2. I Icha Icha Fantasy

I – Icha Icha Fantasy

Kakashi made his way towards the training grounds with a huge smile hidden beneath his mask. Jiraiya's new book was released today, and Kakashi had just picked up his copy at the local bookshop. He was surprised when the clerk mentioned that he was not the first person in Konoha to purchase a copy of the new book. But he would not let that get him down. Kakashi knew for a fact that he was Jiraiya's number one fan. Who other than him read Jiraiya's works out in public?

He arrived at training grounds three and was relieved to find it empty. He wouldn't have to worry about avoiding anyone's poorly aimed attacks while he enjoyed his romance novel.

Kakashi walked swiftly towards a large tree in the middle of the grounds and sat down upon the grass. He leaned back against the tree trunk and made himself comfortable, since he was planning on reading here until the sun went down.

When he was finally comfortable, he pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Fantasy and cracked the spine for the first time. His eye danced across the words, as he devoured chapter after chapter.

When it had begun to get too dark to read, he was surprised by a female voice from above.

"Do you want to take a break from reading and get some ramen with me?"

Kakashi tilted his head back against the tree and saw, sure enough, a woman was sitting in its branches. He watched as she swung a dangling bare leg back and forth as she waited for a response. How long had she been there? And how did he not notice her presence? And why did her voice sound so familiar?

He stood up with all the grace someone can have after sitting in the same position all day and looked up into the tree. Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight of Haruno Sakura in a white dress, barefoot, with a neon pink copy of Icha Icha Fantasy in her lap.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow at his behavior.

"So is that a yes," she asked.

"Huh?" Kakashi was dumbfounded.

"You, me, most likely Naruto, ramen? Sound good?"

And still nothing came from Kakashi. He was too shocked by the sight of Sakura and her loose grasp on Icha Icha. Was he imagining this? Had reading Icha Icha all day rattled his brain? Of course his innocent Sakura would not be reading one of Jiraiya's novels, let alone the latest release on its release date.

When still nothing came from Kakashi's lips, Sakura hopped down from the tree. Her shoulder length pink hair and white skirt fluttered around her on her trip down from the branch of the tree. She landed with all the grace of someone that had been sitting in the same position all day and Kakashi instinctively reached out to steady her on her feet. His was surprised by how nice it felt to wrap his hands around Sakura's petite waist.

"Thanks," she said a bit breathless. "I didn't think I was going to stick that landing. I've been up there since early this morning, so I am a bit stiff."

Sakura smiled bashfully at Kakashi and he felt his heart skip a beat. He had definitely been reading to much Icha Icha, he thought.

"Come on, let's eat," Sakura insisted. After she slid on her shoes, she took his hand, which still lingered on her waist, and led the Copy Nin out of the training grounds and towards the ramen stand in town.

That night, the two were seen eating side by side at Ichiraku with two copies of Icha Icha Fantasy between them on the counter.


	3. T Tequila

T – Tequila

Kakashi worked his way through the thick Saturday night crowd at the local Jonin bar towards the back where he usually sat with his team. He passed a few ninja that gave him nods in acknowledgment, and easily evaded a few kunoichi that tried to get to know him better. 

He finally arrived at the teams' usual table and took in its occupants. In his usual seat sat Ino, dressed in two scraps of purple material that posed as her shirt and skirt. Beside her was Sasuke, and he was turned away from Ino. From his body language, it was clear that the last Uchiha was not pleased with the attention Ino was trying desperately to give him. Kakashi sighed feeling bad for the girl.

He drew his attention away from the pair and started to look for an open seat. Naruto, Sai, and Yamato rounded out the table. He wondered where Sakura was when he saw that her usual seat, the one between Yamato's and his, was empty.

Kakashi sat down in the empty chair and asked the table, "Where is Sakura?"

The other men at the table turned their full attention to him, and, in unison, pointed towards the bar. They were slightly upset by her absence, and the face Naruto was making practically shouted, "Fix this!"

Kakashi turned to look for Sakura at the bar, but it was four-shinobi deep along its whole length. He couldn't see where she was.

He stood to get a better look. There was still no sign of the pink-haired kunoichi.

He turned back to the table as he sat and said, "I don't see her. Where at the bar is she?"

"Towards the middle of the left half," the stoic Uchiha stated.

"Genma dragged her off to do tequila shots about an hour ago," Naruto whined.

At the mention of the womanizing Special Jonin, Kakashi's eyes sharpened.

"I'll take care of it," he said as he stood up once again.

He walked towards the bar. His usual lazy slouch was gone. His visible eye was full of killing-intent. Kakashi did not need to wade through the crowd on this pass through the bar. The crowd parted for him.

His eye finally landed on his pink-haired teammate, and he watched as she licked her hand. He watched as she tossed back a shot of tequila. He watched as she brought a slice of lime to her tequila-whetted lips. He watched as she closed her eyes as the sour juice splashed into her mouth. And he watched as she put the spent slice onto the bar, her pink tongue coming out to rid her lips of the lingering juice and alcohol.

As if sensing his gaze, she turned to him and smiled. Her smile jolted him out of his trance-like state. Sakura beaconed him over with a curl of her index finger, and he made his way to her side.

"Kakashi!" she shouted in drunken glee. "Join us for shots!"

"Us? Shots?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yup, Genma and I are doing tequila shots," she said, pointing over her shoulder at where Genma sat. "He lost a bet with me last week, and matching me shot-for-shot was his penalty." She paused for a moment, and then added with a wicked smile, "And he has to pay."

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at her behavior. He knew that Sakura had an not only learned Tsunade's strength, but also her alcohol tolerance. She would definitely be able to drink Genma under the table.

He turned his gaze past Sakura to Genma. Genma was swaying in his stool and looked about three minutes away from passing out.

He wondered momentarily why he was so worried about Sakura. She could take care of herself. Hell, she could easily take on practically any ninja in this bar. He suddenly had the urge to bang his head against the bar. Instead, he took the shot that Sakura had placed in front of him and tossed it back through his mask.

"No salt, no lime?" 

He chuckled and turned to face Sakura. She was looking at him incredulously.

"You didn't even wait for me," she said with a pout.

Kakashi had the sudden urge to take the lip she had jutted out between his. He shook his head. Dammit, he was definitely attracted to Sakura. This was only his first shot, so there was no way that this attraction to the kunoichi in front of him was a result of too much alcohol.

The pout went away, and Sakura turned to do her shot. Kakashi watched intently as she licked the salt on her hand, tossed back her shot and sucked on her lime.

"You wouldn't have to watch if you had waited," she teased, as she poured him another shot. She emptied the rest of the bottle into her shot glass.

She held up her half shot for a toast. Kakashi smiled behind his mask and raised his own, full, shot glass.

"To free tequila," she said clinking her glass against his and then downed the shot. Kakashi quickly followed suite, smirking at the fact that she had skipped the salt and lime ritual in order to do the shot his way.

Sakura turned to Genma, who was still swaying drunkenly on his stool.

"You think you can make it home on your own?"

Genma slowly looked up at Sakura. He raised a hand and tangled his fingers into her pink locks. A sexual smirk slid onto his face.

"I can make it home with you," he slurred lecherously in response.

Sakura snorted and replied, "Please, there is no way you could get it up after half a bottle of tequila."

Kakashi's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Did his innocent Sakura just say that? Surely not.

Genma tossed his head back and laughed. "Alright, you win this round little lady," he coaxed.

Sakura leaned forward, pressed her breasts against Genma's chest and brought her mouth beside his ear.

She laughed softly and whispered in a husky voice, "I always get what I want."

Her voice was lost in the din of the bar, so Kakashi had no idea what she had told Genma. However, judging from the fact that Genma's jaw went slack, he could only imagine what wickedly sexual things she whispered.

And then Sakura pulled away from Genma, and with a wink said, "Too bad that's not you."

Sakura slid off her stool and took Kakashi by the hand. She led him through the bar towards their regular table and away from the still-slack jawed Genma.

She left Genma with the tab and the lingering thought that perhaps it was the famous Sharingan Kakashi that she wanted to get.


	4. N Nightgown

N – Nightgown

Sakura stumbled into her apartment after a triple shift at the hospital, and she was not only exhausted but completely out of chakra. 

She dragged her tired body into a warm shower in hopes of ridding herself of the horrible stench of blood. She had healed not one, but three critically injured ANBU teams back-to-back. Each team seemed to come in as she made her way toward the hospital exit, and each team required her skills to save their lives.

Sakura had barely finished with her last surgery when Tsunade arrived at the hospital. With one look at the completely drained Sakura, Tsunade pointed finger at the door and ordered Sakura to go home and get some sleep.

So here she was, attempting to lather some sweet smelling shampoo into her hair while her arms cried out in lactic acid buildup. She decided it would be best to skip the conditioner and the blow-drying. She washed out the suds she had managed to build up and made her way out of the shower stall. Wrapping her towel around herself, to tired to even dry off well, she made her way into her bedroom.

She opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out the top nightgown. It was a little, red silk number that she had picked up on a trip to Suna the year before, and she smiled in remembrance of a certain Kazekage's reaction to said piece of nightwear.

Without another thought Sakura dropped her towel to the floor and let the nightie fall down over her her head, lifting her arms just enough to slide through the spaghetti straps on the nightgowns way down her body. She chuckled softy at the thought that at least gravity made one thing easier for her tonight. 

She glanced down at the wet towel on the floor and then back up at her open bedroom door towards the bathroom.

"Too far," she muttered as she bent to retrieve the towel. She hung the towel on the door knob to her bedroom as she shut the door.

Flipping her light switch off, she made her way to the bed. And after she crawled beneath her silk sheets, she fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sakura jolted awake at the sound of someone landing roughly on the balcony outside her bedroom. She took a quick glance at her clock and saw that she had been asleep for less that four hours.

Grumbling, she climbed out of bed and grabbed a kunai from her nightstand. While her chakra-packed fists were enough to protect herself, at the moment she wanted to conserve as much chakra as possible. So brandishing a kunai was going to have to be her form of intimidation tonight, or at least serve as plan A. 

Sakura took a moment before she drew back the curtains to check her chakra levels, and while she wasn't empty anymore, she had probably only regained about five percent of her total chakra.

Sighing at her pitiful state, she opened her curtains and peered out onto her balcony. Suddenly, she snapped into medic mode when she saw a slumped over ninja leaning against her railing. She burst through the door and made her way over to the injured man. And then she saw the silver hair.

"Kakashi! Are you okay?" She sped up her pace and crouched down at his side.

Kakashi looked up at the sound of Sakura's voice, and was shocked by what he saw: long, creamy legs; a red, silk negligee; and rumpled, pink hair that looked the result of a good ravishing. For once he was happy for his heavy blood loss otherwise he would have been blushing like a school boy. Yes, he confirmed to himself, I am definitely attracted to Sakura.

Sakura placed her kunai down beside his body, and laid her hands upon his chest. She summoned her chakra to search his body for injuries. She found that his only injuries were a large gash in his side and a fracture in his hip. The gash had led to a fair amount of blood loss, but nothing that couldn't be overcome by a quick stimulation of his bone marrow by her chakra.

She placed her hands on either side of his head to confirm that there was no head trauma. When everything looked okay, she decided it would be best to move Kakashi into her apartment before she attempted to heal him.

"Come on," she said, as she draped his arm over her shoulder. "Let's get you inside."

She dragged Kakashi into her bedroom, and Kakashi was relieved to find that her bed was empty. He shook his head at his sudden sense of possessiveness. 

Sakura led him out of her bedroom, down the hall and into the kitchen. She pulled out a high back kitchen chair and slid the Copy Nin into it.

"Can you stay sitting while I go get some supplies?"

Kakashi tried to bring his gaze up to her eyes, but was finding it difficult to draw his sight away from her hardened nipples pressing against the silk of her negligee.

"I think I can manage," he choked out as he turned away from the beautiful sight of her body and propped himself up on the table with his arms.

Sakura went to the hall closet where she removed some bandages and towels to clean up all the blood. When she returned to the kitchen, she was relieved to find Kakashi was still upright.

"Alright," she said, "let's get you fixed up."

Sakura helped Kakashi lean back into the chair and pulled him away from the table. To get to the gash in his side without further aggravating the wound, she was going to have to cut off his jonin vest and long sleeved undershirt.

Sakura lifted Kakashi's left arm, bent forward, and with a quick concentration of chakra she cut open his vest and shirt. She then repeated the process with his right side, shoulders, and around his neck.

Kakashi had stopped breathing. The moment Sakura bent forward, he had a clear line of sight straight down her nightgown. He hadn't meant to look, but he couldn't deny the fact that she had presented him with an unimpeded peek at her cleavage, taught stomach and her hairless sex. Oh god, he thought. Even though his sharingan was covered, he knew for a fact that he would never forget what he had just seen.

He shut his eyes and tried to resume breathing. Suddenly, his shirt fell away and the cool air of the room hit his torso. He gasped. Ah yes, that's right. That's how you breathe.

He brought a hand up and found that Sakura had left his mask intact. He smiled at her thoughtfulness, and muttered a soft thanks.

Once Sakura had rid Kakashi of his shirt, she knelt between his legs and placed her hands above the wound in his side. Her hands began to glow green and she started to fuse his flesh back together.

She looked up when Kakashi thanked her and saw that his hand was on his mask. She smiled and met his eye for the first time since she started healing him.

"If I took it off, somehow I feel like I would be cheating," she explained.

Kakashi nodded and smiled wryly behind his mask.

Sakura broke their eye contact, and resumed looking at the wound that she was healing. She was nearly done, just a few more minutes and then she could address his blood loss.

When any evidence of a wound was completely gone, Sakura placed her hands on Kakashi's thigh. Kakashi couldn't help but be surprised by how much Sakura's touch was affecting him. He wasn't sure whether it was the fact that a scantily clad woman was kneeling before him with both hands upon his thigh; or whether it was the fact that it was Sakura that was scantily clad and kneeling before him with both of her hands upon his thigh. 

"I am going to stimulate the blood cells in your femur to divide and that will help with your blood loss."

Kakashi nodded in response to her explanation, but the only thought running through his mind was a silent plea that she would keep touching him.

Sakura quickly finished the chakra-stimulation, and was quickly reminded of her own chakra-depletion. She felt the room spin, and her hands slid down either side of his thigh. Her breath had turned to short pants, and she collapsed from her knees onto her bottom. She rested her head upon Kakashi's inner thigh to steady herself.

"Are you okay," Kakashi asked. He was pulled from his clouded thoughts by Sakura's display, and he was now quite concerned about her well-being.

"Just give me a moment. I used more chakra than I meant to. It'll pass."

A few moments passed, and the room stabilized for Sakura. She sat up and with the use of Kakashi's knees for leverage, she stood. Kakashi was granted another quick peek down her nightie, and with his concern overriding his attraction, he was able to avert his gaze before he could see anymore than he already had.

"Come on," she said, holding her hand out to him.

Confused, Kakashi tilted his head to the side. "Come on?"

"Yes, come on. We are going to bed so I can regain enough chakra to finish healing you in the morning."

Sakura's hand lingered between them for another moment until Kakashi took it in his. She pulled him out of the chair and helped him hobble into her bedroom.

Sakura appraised the both of them for blood, and saw that only Kakashi's pants were dirty.

She moved her hands to the waistband of his pants and started unbuttoning his fly. Kakashi stopped being able to think. After Sakura finished undoing his pants, she looked up at his face. 

Her eyes met his, and she smirked as she asked, "You are wearing underwear, right?"

He nodded in affirmative, and a moment later Sakura was pulling down his pants.

Kakashi bit his lip to stifle a moan.

Sakura missed his pained expression as she crouched down to pull off his shoes and finish removing his pants. After she finished undressing him, she stood up and helped him into her bed. She laid down beside him and brought the covers up over their bodies.

"Goodnight, Kakashi," she whispered as she snuggled into his body.

"Goodnight, Sakura," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Neither had a hard time falling asleep in the others embrace. And neither sensed Tsunade watching from Sakura's balcony with a smirk upon her face.


	5. B Blood

B - Blood

"For goodness sakes, where is that man? If he isn't here in the next five minutes you are just going to have to leave without him," Tsunade shouted. She began to pace behind her desk, and her hands were itching to either wrap around Kakashi's neck or the neck of a large bottle of sake.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Yamato watched as their Hokage's anger grew larger by the minute.

And finally, she snapped.

"That's it. We can't wait any longer. As it is, you will have to leave as soon as we finish this briefing to get there in time." She stopped her incessant pacing and cast her gaze upon the four ninja in front of her. Tsunade's sudden serious tone had all of them straightening their backs and preparing for the worst.

"What I have for you all is an extraction mission. It is unranked due to the serious danger involved and therefore acceptance is not mandatory." She paused to see if any of the men before her would protest being given such a difficult mission. The men before her said nothing.

"I take your silence as acceptance." She paused and then continued, "Two days ago, I sent Sakura on what I believed to be an easy solo assassination mission. She was to travel half a day to a town in the north of Fire country. When she arrived, she was to make contact with a local lord, posing as a "present" from the Fire country's daimyo. She was then to seduce and assassinate that lord.

"Thirty minutes ago, an ANBU team reported that this lord has started to amass an army of loyal soldiers that are housed on his manor. ANBU made it clear that these soldiers are not simply mercenaries, but in fact are quite devoted to Sakura's target. Therefore his death will not go unanswered should she be caught."

"Baa-chan, how could you send Sakura into this mess?" Naruto interrupted.

"Idiot, she didn't know until two days after Sakura left," Sasuke reprimanded.

"Yes, that is why I am sending you all to get her out of there. You must stop her before she makes her initial contact. Sakura does not hesitate on these missions. If she makes her way into the lord's home, she will assassinate him. Therefore, you must leave right away. I was hoping Kakashi would be able to track her with his dogs, but since time is of the essence, and he is not here, you're just going to have to do without him."

Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Yamato nodded.

"Let's go," Yamato ordered. "Grab what you need and meet at the gates in 15 minutes."

The four men rushed out of Tsunade's office. The moment the door shut behind them Tsunade collapsed into her chair. She let out a sigh.

"Way to let her down you idiot," she muttered into the bottom drawer of her desk, as she pulled out a bottle of sake.

* * *

Team Kakashi, minus Kakashi, made their way through the forest at top speed. They had been traveling for several hours without a break, and were within an hours' light jog from the lord's manor.

Yamato signaled to Naruto, Sasuke and Sai to stop and come together in the nearby clearing.

The four landed, and Sasuke said, "We have a tail."

"Yes, it would be best if we dealt with him here before we get any closer to the location. It would be unwise to attract any unnecessary attention," Yamato added. "Fan out, and prepare for a confrontation."

The four ninja jumped away from their gathering spot and took lookout in the trees.

Suddenly, a pack of dogs followed by a silver-haired streak made their way past them.

Without hesitating, Team Kakashi fell in behind their leader.

"About time you caught up, you old pervert," Naruto yelled.

Kakashi chuckled, but chose not to reply. He would definitely get to Sakura on time, and he wasn't going to waste any breath on making up a poor excuse to appease Naruto. He would save that for when they got Sakura back, and she and Naruto could shoot down his lame excuses together.

Kakashi's pack led the team straight to the gates of a walled off castle. The sun had set two hours ago, and a dense fog had rolled in around the manor.

"Sakura's scent is in there, along with a lot of blood," Pakkun told Kakashi.

Kakashi had already scented the blood. He knew that it was thick on the air. He swallowed hard. They may have been too late.

"We'll go in to get her," Kakashi informed his team.

"Shhh, listen," Naruto said. "It's too quiet. I don't hear anything."

Suddenly, the gate exploded outwards. Team Kakashi froze, took on their fighting stances, and concentrated on the the gaping whole in the wall. Fog seeped out from the walls, like water from a broken dam.

From out of the fog stepped a woman in a white kimono splattered with crimson stripes of blood. She held a katana in each hand. Each blade was painted red with blood. Team Kakashi was ready to attack. And then the moon came out from behind the clouds and shed light upon the woman. Her pink hair was unencumbered by her usual Konoha head band. And her emerald eyes were darkened by battle. But it was clear that this ethereal creature was none other than Haruno Sakura.

She walked towards her teammates, and said, "Follow me." With practiced precision, Sakura sheathed her swords on her back while walking past the gawking ninja.

Without another word, Sakura took to the trees and began her trek away from the manor. The others turned from the castle and followed Sakura's lead. Her pace was brisk, and her route was clearly pre-planned. When they were a kilometer from the castle, the earth started to rattle and a series of huge explosions were heard. The explosions were large enough that dirt and debris rained down upon Sakura and her team a kilometer away. Regardless of the debris, Sakura kept her pace up as she made her way away from the lord's castle.

Sakura did not address her teammates after her initial order to follow her, and continued running through the forest until she reached Konoha at daybreak. Not once did she look back at the men behind her.

Sakura entered the gates and went straight towards Hokage Tower. She climbed the stairs and burst straight into Tsunade's office without knocking. Team Kakashi followed her in. The watched as she approached Tsunade's desk and woke up Tsunade by slamming her mission scroll onto the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade bolted upright, and saw a livid Haruno Sakura before her.

"I have completed my assignment. My target has been eliminated along with his army of one hundred forty-seven men. I will return tomorrow with a full mission report," Sakura stated neutrally. And without another word, she turned and started to leave the Hokage's office.

Team Kakashi watched as she left. Her head was held high, and her temper was reigned in.

When she reached the door, she stopped and quietly said, "Next time, please trust in my abilities to do my job. Had I needed backup, I would have requested reinforcements."

And then Sakura left, closing the door behind her.


	6. K Kazekage

K – Kazekage

Tsunade sent Team Kakashi to the main gates of Konoha to greet the Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara. Gaara was arriving to finalize the new alliance treaty between the Konoha and Suna villages. He was scheduled to arrive around noon, which left Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, Yamato, and Kakashi standing before the gates underneath the midday sun.

While the majority of Team Kakashi stood at the gates stoically awaiting the Kazekage, it was clear that Naruto and Sakura had some nervous energy to burn. Naruto was excited to see his friend. It had been two years since the blond had seen Gaara. Sakura, on the other hand, was worried about seeing Gaara. It had been 10 months, 22 days, and three hours since Sakura last saw Sabaku no Gaara, not that she was counting. And it had been 10 months, 22 days and two hours since Sakura last made love with Gaara.

Sakura's worries were put on hold when she saw three crimson-cloaked figures approach the gates. In the middle, front was Gaara. The large gourd upon his back gave away his identity. Behind him to his left was Temari with a large fan strapped to her back. And behind him to his right was Kankuro with three large puppet-containing scrolls on his back.

Team Kakashi stepped forward to greet the Sand siblings, and the Sand siblings each pulled off their hoods revealing their faces to their friends.

Sakura's breath was stuck in her throat, her heart was hammering in her mouth, and her knees felt weak at the sight of Gaara's face. Pull it together, she thought. And then, she swallowed hard and took a deep breath, composing herself.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted, running over to the red-headed Kazekage. Sakura, along with the rest of Team Kakashi, resisted the urge to smack her own forehead when Naruto tackled Gaara into a hug.

Way to be formal, Naruto, they all thought. But nobody faulted Naruto for being friendly, that was just his nature, and they wouldn't have him any other way.

Naruto was beyond astounded when Gaara actually returned his hug and smiled at Naruto in greeting. But Naruto melted his surprise away with an infectious smile. He was truly happy that Gaara was comfortable enough to hug him in return and be pleased by the physical contact. Gaara had certainly grown in the past two years.

With Naruto's arm wrapped firmly around his neck, Gaara approached the rest of Team Kakashi. He reached out and shook Kakashi's and Sasuke's hands. And then he turned past Sakura towards the other two men on the team. Everyone noticed that he had snubbed Sakura, and suddenly the gears in their heads had started turning. Something was clearly going on.

"You must be Yamato and Sai," he said, holding out his hand to shake each of theirs. "I have heard great things about you from Sakura."

And then he turned back to Sakura, who had narrowed her eyes at him in anger when he looked right past her.

"And the best for last," he said, as he got down on one knee in front of Sakura and took her hand in his. He placed a gently kiss on her hand, and Inner Sakura proceeded to go into a fit of seizures. "You look more breathtaking than a Suna sunset," he whispered softly to her.

At that, Outer Sakura had to resist the urge to go into romantic convulsions. Instead, she blushed the hue of her hair and looked away from Gaara. Her turning was a mistake, because she had turned to face the incredulous looks of Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. She quickly snapped her head back towards Gaara.

"Thank you, Gaara. It is nice to see you again," she replied. Gaara stood and released Sakura's hand from his grasp.

Before anything more could be said between the two, Naruto looped an arm around Gaara's neck and started to drag him off in the direction of Hokage Tower, mindlessly babbling about all the great new techniques that he had recently perfected. Sasuke swept up onto Gaara's other side, blocking Sakura's attempt to walk beside the handsome Kazekage.

And then Yamato and Sai swooped in to walk behind the trio.

Sakura's eyes widened at their obvious tactics. Her pace had slowed and Kankuro and Temari passed her by, leaving Sakura behind to fall into step with Kakashi.

"Did that really just happen," she asked the Copy Nin, slowing her pace to drop out of hearing range. She turned her head to look at him in attempt to entice an answer.

"Which part," he asked. "The Kazekage kissing your hand or the cock-blocking?"

Sakura immediately doubled-over in laughter.

"Cock-blocking? Cock-blocking? I can't believe you just said that."

"I think that was a clear example of cock-blocking," he replied.

"I see," Sakura replied. She let the situation roll around in her head.

"So was it the kiss or the cock-blocking that has you so surprised?"

"Can I say both? Because both have sort of taken me off-guard."

"Both is okay. But, in the future, try not to be too shocked by the cock-blocking. To be honest, I'm astonished that you've never noticed us in action before."

Sakura smirked, and began to walk a bit faster to catch up to the group.

"Who says I haven't noticed? To be honest," she said mockingly, "you all haven't been very successful."

Kakashi misstepped and then looked at her with widened eyes.

She simply laughed huskily and added, "Besides, who do you think the Kazekage is staying with while he's here?"


	7. L Lingerie Party

L – Lingerie party

When Kakashi reached his mailbox in the jonin headquarters, he was beyond surprised to see a small purple envelope waiting to be picked up beside his usual mission-related mail. He glanced at the other mailboxes along the wall and saw that several others also contained tiny purple envelopes.

With a shrug, he pulled the envelope out of his box. In swirling, fancy calligraphy in was labeled: Hatake Kakashi. That pushed away his doubts that the letter was not meant for him. Kunai in hand, he neatly cut open the envelope and pulled out an equally purple piece of paper.

The paper read: You are cordially invited to a lingerie party to celebrate Yamanaka Ino's 21st birthday. Don't overdress. Violators will be punished.

The invitation then had a date, a time and an address written upon the bottom. The address he recognized as belonging to one Haruno Sakura.

"This should be interesting," he muttered, grabbing the rest of his mail and making his way out of the building.

* * *

Sakura stood in her kitchen putting the final touches on her famous rum punch. It would have been a normal, pre-party scene had it not been for what she was wearing.

She wore a black, lace demi bra which emphasized her ample bosom and revealed a fair amount of cleavage. Her toned stomach was bare, minus a small silver bar poking through her belly button. From her hips hung a matching black, lace thong and garter set. The garters were attached to sheer, black, thigh high stockings with lacy tops. And her feet were encased by a pair of black patent leather pumps with a four-inch heel. With Ino's help, Sakura had set her pink locks into fat curls to frame her face, she had rimmed her eyes with black eyeshadow, and she had painted her lips a shiny ruby red. She was a walking-male fantasy.

With a nod at her final taste-test, Sakura picked up the punch bowl and brought it into the living room which she had set up to accommodate all of the guests that Ino had invited by moving the majority of the furniture into her study. The only furniture left in the room were the refreshments table and a handful of folding chairs she had borrowed from people throughout her building.

She took one last glance around and was content with the set-up. A quick look at the clock showed that guest would be arriving any minute now, so Sakura rushed off to her bedroom to check on how the birthday girl and Hinata were doing with their final touches on their appearances.

Sakura stood at her bedroom door in shock. Standing before her was a sexy Ino and an even sexier Hinata.

"Didn't you know you're not supposed to look better than the birthday girl," Sakura asked the blushing Hyuuga, who was dressed in a sheer dark, navy blue chemise that reached the tops of her thighs and ended in a ruffled trim. The chemises' cups were opaque, as was the matching sting bikini panties she wore under it, but the tops of her breasts were bare revealing more flesh that Sakura had ever seen Hinata display. Sakura looked down past Hinata's bare legs to see what shoes Hinata had chosen, and immediately vetoed the selection.

"Hang on, I have the perfect shoes for that number," Sakura said. She opened a small trunk at the bottom of her bed and pulled out a pair of silver strappy stilettos. She handed them to Hinata, and then turned to Ino.

"Wow, if I went that way," Sakura said with a playful smile at Ino. Ino had outdone herself; she had selected a purple satin half corset that ended a few inched above her belly button and a matching purple satin half slip that stopped at the tops of her thighs. Ino had chosen a pair of black fishnet thigh-highs and a cute pair of black leather ankle boots with a three-inch heel to complete the outfit.

Ino smirked and said, "I could say the same for you forehead. And what is this business about looking better than the birthday girl? I'm going to have to say that you seem to be right up there with Hinata." Ino gave Sakura a lecherous once-over. Before she could tease her best friend more, the door bell rang.

"And so it begins," Sakura said, turning to go answer the door. "Let's make 'em drool," she ordered, leading Hinata and Ino to greet their first guests.

* * *

The party had been in full swing for nearly an hour when Team Kakashi decided to show up.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Yamato made their way towards the refreshments table to get something to drink, while Kakashi went to go find a corner where he could read his book.

Sakura was carrying a fresh bowl of punch into the room when she caught sight of her teammates at the refreshments table. Inner Sakura smirked at the wicked thoughts running through Sakura's head, and when Sakura threw an extra sway into her hips, her inner couldn't help but shout, "You go girl!"

Sasuke was the first to see the pink-haired hostess, and he immediately nudged Naruto.

"What was that for, teme?" he shouted, turning to look at the last Uchiha. He was surprised to see that Sasuke was not even looking at him, but was entranced by something across the room. He turned to follow Sasuke's gaze, and saw that it was not a something that had mesmerized the stoic ninja, but rather a pink-headed someone.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered softly in awe. Naruto's utterance caught the attention of Yamato and Sai, who immediately turned to see the wet-dream on legs making its way over to them.

Sakura placed the punch bowl down on the table, leaning forward and giving her teammates a nice view of her cleavage.

She looked up and smiled at the drooling men before her. "Punch," she asked nonchalantly.

Yamato found his voice first, and muttered a gruff, "No thanks." The rest of the men rolled in their tongues and also declined her offer.

Sakura straightened and strutted around the table to join her friends. She unabashedly checked them out in their underwear. Naruto walked towards her in his bright orange boxers, and Sakura couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle at his taste in unmentionables. He brought her into a friendly hug, and exaggerated his peek over her shoulder to check out her ass.

When Naruto saw that she was wearing a thong, he pulled away from their light hug and stared at her in shock.

Sakura snorted at his reaction and then quickly shoved him towards the kitchen. "Go help Hinata bring out some more beer."

Naruto gave her his usually cheesy grin and said, "Sure thing, Sakura-chan."

Sakura watched from over her shoulder as he disappeared into her kitchen. Sasuke came up to her side and said, "Subtle."

"Please, I could write it in neon lights and he would still be oblivious. Besides, he may get his head out of his ass once he sees her," Sakura replied with a smirk.

She moved closer to take in Sasuke and his tight boxer-briefs and flip-flops, and couldn't resist the urge to run her fingers down his thigh.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her forward behavior. "Enjoying yourself," he asked.

"What? I wanted to see if they were as soft as they looked." She tickled his ribs in retaliation, and Sasuke felt the need to take several calming breaths.

Sakura turned her attention on Sai, who was staring intently at Sakura's chest. She laughed softly at his immodesty. In any other situation, she would have given him quite the knuckle sandwich for checking her out so blatantly, but at this party you showed off what you wanted everyone to see.

Instead she returned his gaze, trailing her sights down his pale well toned stomach to his white boxer briefs that looked so new the creases from the packaging were still visible.

She reached out and smoothed out the crease at his hips with her fingertips.

"Are these new?" she asked.

"Yes. Ino gave them to me and requested that I wear them tonight. I read that it is expected to fulfill the wishes of the birthday person, so I wore them. I usually do not wear any undergarments," Sai replied.

Inner Sakura immediately started to fan herself at the conjured image a naked Sai. Outer Sakura had to resist the urge herself. Instead, she settled for pointing downwards and rotating her index finger in a small circle.

Sai just looked at her confused.

"Turn around," Sakura explained. "I want to check out your ass." She smiled broadly at him.

Sai turned in a circle and Sakura was quite pleased with the sight of his full behind filling the briefs until they stretched snuggly.

When Sai had completed his rotation, he meet Sakura's heated gaze and performed the same hand motion that she had made. He plastered on his fake smile, and said, "I want to check out your ass too."

Sakura just laughed and brought her hand up to tangle into her hair while she turned ever-so-slowly in a circle. Her three teammates couldn't help but be shocked at the fact that she had opted to wear a thong to the party. However, they certainly appreciated the view that she gave them.

Sakura had completed her little show, and saw that she had certainly captured their undivided attention. She couldn't help but chuckle at how the three men before her were behaving. Being on the same team, and having been forced into rather close quarters on many occasions, had led to the inevitable fact that they had all seen each other naked at one time or another. So Sakura couldn't quite understand why they were so intent on looking at her lace-covered form.

Breaking the moment, Sakura turned her attention on her last teammate present at the table, Yamato. Her eyes slowly traveled down his torso to his snug blue-black briefs.

Not being able to help herself, she reached out and gathered some of the material between her index finger and thumb and pulled it slightly away from his body while bending at the waist to get a closer look.

She tilted her head up, to look at Yamato and found that his eyes had already trailed down her back and were looking intently at her hindquarters. She smiled and asked, "Are these blue or black? Upon closer inspection, I still can't tell."

Yamato looked at her as if she had grown another head. Her faces was inches away from his cloth-covered crotch, and she was focused on the color of the fabric. He snorted at her question and waved her away with his hand.

Sakura righted herself, and wanting to continue giving him a hard time, called over her shoulder for the birthday girl.

"Ino, come here! I need your opinion on something!"

Ino pulled away from her conversation with her genin teammates, Shikamaru and Chouji, and strutted over towards her best friend.

"You bellowed," she teased, wrapping her arms around Sakura's bare waist.

Sakura giggled softly at her friend and then pointed at Yamato's briefs.

"Are those blue or black, oh fashion guru," she asked.

Ino looked at Yamato's underwear and then back at Sakura. "I can't tell."

Ino surprised Yamato by getting on her knees in front of him and pulling at the fabric like Sakura had just moments ago. She brought it close to her eyes, then shifted it around in the light.

"Blue," she concluded. "Definitely blue." She released the fabric so quickly that it snapped back onto Yamato's hip with an audible clap.

Ino stood and then gently stroked the area she had pulled to smooth the fabric back out, her eyes never leaving Yamato's. And as quick as she came, she left, letting her fingertips slide across Sakura's stomach as she passed.

Sai, Sasuke and Yamato all caught the slight shudder that passed through Sakura in response to Ino's feather-light touch on her tummy and stored it away for future reference.

* * *

The party was going well when Tenten and Neji arrived. Tenten wore a red corset which laced up the front and revealed a strip of skin straight down her torso, a matching red G-string, and a pair of red, six inch platform heels. Beside her, looking quite angry, was a fully-clothed Neji.

The music stopped, and Ino came out of the kitchen with a big-tub full of ice and beer. She scanned the room trying to figure out why the music was turned off. When she saw a fully-clothed Neji, she put down the tub of beer none-to-gently on the ground. The sound had everyone turning to see a fuming Ino.

"Ladies," she ordered with a snap of her fingers.

Across the room, where Sakura was talking with Naruto and Hinata, Sakura rolled her eyes and handed her drink to Naruto. Sakura made eye contact with Hinata and nodded her head at Ino.

"Let's go," Sakura mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Hinata stood, and like flipping on a switch, Sakura and Hinata flowed over to Ino like liquid sex.

When Sakura and Hinata flanked Ino, Ino fell into step with them, and the three stalked their way towards Neji.

The three sirens reached Neji, Ino sent a look to Sakura, and Sakura broke away from the ranks and pressed herself up against Neji's body.

Neji stiffened when Sakura made contact with his body, and his eyes snapped to hers.

"Neji," she purred, in a low voice, that no person would admit to her teammates that they ever heard her use for fear of losing their life. "What in the world are you wearing?"

Sakura trailed her hands down his front until she reached the sash at his waist, her eyes never leaving his.

"I believe you were warned not to overdress," she admonished, her voice still sultry and low.

And then her nimble fingers made easy work of the complicated knot that held his sash shut. With a quick tug, the sash came off in her hands, and when Sakura moved back an inch, Neji's shirt parted, revealing his nearly translucent skin.

Neji opened his mouth to protest, but Sakura immediately stepped back into him, letting her cool skin press up against his warm, newly revealed torso.

"Are you going to take you punishment like a good boy?" she purred into his ear, letting her lips ghost against his skin.

She leaned back to meet his eyes, and found that his gaze had moved to Hinata and Ino, who remained standing behind Sakura and looking ominous. Sakura did not appreciate his loss of attention, and she knew just how to get it back.

She trailed her free hand, the one without the sash, to travel up his bared chest and shrug off his shirt. His shirt fell to the ground and Neji looked down at the hand that rested upon his shoulder. Sakura then trailed her fingers up his neck and then clamped down onto his jaw to turn his face to face her own.

They locked eyes, and Sakura whispered, "You will look at me while I punish you. You will look at nobody else. Do you understand?"

Neji swallowed hard and managed to jerk his head slightly up-and-down in Sakura's firm grasp.

"Good boy." Sakura slid her hand back down his neck, and kept her body against his as she walked behind his back. Neji turned his head to watch her, and when his head could turn no more, he followed her with his eyes.

Sakura ran her hands down his arms until she reached his wrists, and then in a flash, she tied his hands behind his back using the sash that had kept his shirt closed.

Neji shut his eyes as he felt the rough fabric of his sash dig into his wrists, it was a pleasurable pain.

He felt Sakura move back around him until she reached his front. He opened his eyes, and let his pearl orbs once again lock on his punisher's emerald eyes. Neji was surprised to find that she was enjoying herself, even though she was putting on quite a show for all of the party goers.

"Ino," Sakura asked, "is my pet still overdressed?"

"Oh, yes," Ino replied darkly.

In a fluid motion, Sakura fell to her knees dragging her hands down his chest and leaving harsh red lines from her fingernails on his pale skin. By the time Sakura had reached the floor, her fingers were hooked into the waistband of Neji's white pants. She looked up at Neji and licked her crimson lips, making this seem even more sexual than it was.

Sakura then untied the drawstring to his pants, her eyes still locked on his, and quickly tugged his pants to the floor, revealing an extremely tight pair of white briefs. Sakura then stood back up, trailing her hands slowly up Neji's chests to wrap around the back of his neck.

"Good boy," she purred and then ghosted her lips over his, her eyes still locked with his.

And then Sakura broke their connection, turned to face Ino and Hinata, and stalked off towards the kitchen. The music resumed, and Ino and Hinata fell into step with Sakura a pace after their pink-haired friend, and echoed her sexy walk all the way to the kitchen.

When the swinging door shut behind Hinata, the three women double-over in hysterical laughter.

"Did you see his face?" Sakura gasped between laughs.

"I have never seen Neji so distracted," Hinata added.

"Forehead, that was so hot. I can't believe you pulled that off," Ino put it.

"Whatever, Pig, it was your idea to strip the overdressed."

Suddenly the door to the kitchen flew open, and the girls tried their best to stifle their laughter.

None of the women were expecting to see a furious Copy Nin in nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs, a tight black sleeveless undershirt with an attached mask, and a mismatched pair of eyes. Icha Icha was no where in sight. Sakura briefly wondered where on his body he could have hidden his book, but was unable to contemplate the possibilities before he grabbed her wrist and proceeded to drag her from the kitchen.

Kakashi led Sakura through the living room, the other party goers paying no heed to the two, and out the front door. They made their way down the stairs of Sakura's apartment building, and that was about when Sakura had enough.

Sakura concentrated her chakra to her feet and adhered herself to the ground.

"That's enough! I will not let you drag me any further. This can go one of two ways, either you can tell me what is going on and where you are taking me, or I can turn around and go back to enjoying my best friends birthday party," she ranted.

Kakashi was exasperated. "What this is about? What this is about? I thought that that would be quite obvious."

And before Sakura could counter his point, Kakashi pulled her body against him and crushed his mask covered lips over hers. Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Kakashi was kissing her. Hatake Kakashi was kissing her.

Inner Sakura got over the surprise first and yelled at Sakura to kiss him back already. And so she did. Sakura slid her eyes shut and returned the kiss.

Kakashi groaned into her mouth, tugged down his mask and buried his fingers in her curly locks. Once the impediment of his mask was gone, Kakashi began to plunder Sakura's mouth with his tongue and grasp at her lips and tongue with his teeth.

Sakura returned Kakashi's fervor and deepened the kiss by tilting her head to the side and entering his mouth with her own tongue. Her fingers grasped his shirt and traveled into his hair, lightly tugging his wild, silken strands.

Sakura moaned softly as Kakashi's hand traveled to her breast and began to massage her firmly. And then she remembered that they were in the middle of her street. She pulled away from Kakashi, her breath coming out in short pants, her hair rumpled, and her crimson painted lips swollen from attention. In Kakashi's opinion she looked good enough to eat.

Sakura shook her head to get her thoughts flowing again, and said, "I need to get back to the party."

Kakashi felt his heart clench in rejection. So this was it, they would end before they even had a chance to begin.

He watched Sakura mount the stairs of her building, and then she turned. Kakashi tried his best to mask the sting he was feeling from her walking away, and could not have been more surprised when she spoke.

"Perhaps you should treat me to dinner tomorrow night." She smiled and then added as an afterthought, "No ramen."

He chuckled softly and his face softened when he realized that he actually had a chance at another kiss and possibly Sakura's heart.

"Dinner sounds good," he replied. Sakura smiled.

"It's a date," she confirmed. And then she turned and resumed walking up her stairs. At the top of the steps, she turned to find Kakashi was watching her walk away.

She smirked and told him, "Oh, and as a rule, I always put out if there is chocolate soufflé for dessert."

With that she turned and went back into her apartment. Kakashi nearly fell over in shock, and then immediately started running through all of the restaurants in Konoha trying to think of one that served chocolate soufflé.


	8. S Sake

S – Sake

Konoha was normally quiet in the early-afternoon. Children were still at school and adults were still at work. However, this particular afternoon was disturbed by the yelling of the Hokage.

"Where is that good-for-nothing apprentice of mine?" Tsunade slammed her had down roughly on her desk, and started grumble.

"Tsunade, you know her shift at the hospital just ended," Shizune admonished. "Please be more patient."

Tsunade turned up her glare a notch and focused it on Shizune. Luckily, Shizune was saved from Tsunade's wrath by the opening of the door.

"Shishou, are you ready for training?" Sakura poked her head around the door and saw that her mentor was not in the best of moods.

"You're late." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her apprentice.

She's definitely sober, Sakura thought. Sakura tried her best to repress a smile.

"Because of your tardiness, training will be ten times as hard today. Let's go." Tsunade got up and stalked over to Sakura at the door, leaving Shizune behind to organize her work for tomorrow.

Tsunade shut the door of her office, and sent a sly smirk at Sakura. She led her pink-haired pupil down the stairs at a quick pace, and the two left the Hokage Tower at a slow jog.

When Sakura and Tsunade had gone several blocks from the tower, Sakura asked, "She hid your sake again, didn't she?"

Tsunade let out a low sigh, "I haven't had a drop all day."

"Which is why we're heading straight to the bar, right?" Sakura's smile was a mile wide as she and Tsunade exchanged mischievous looks.

Tsunade opened the door to the local jonin bar which was not due to open for a few more hours and ushered Sakura into a booth at the back.

The owner of the bar came over shortly later with four large bottles of sake. Sakura's eyes widened. Apparently Tsunade wasn't kidding about punishing her, or rather punishing her stomach. The only bad part about skipping off to the bar instead of training with her shishou was that Tsunade made Sakura match her drink for drink.

I am going to get so drunk, Sakura thought in woe. Sakura prayed that her hangover would be relatively light as she downed her first drink with Tsunade.

* * *

Shizune ran into the members of Team Kakashi at Ichiraku that evening when she went for dinner.

She looked down the bar, and realized that Sakura was missing. She was suddenly worried that Tsunade may have been too rough with her during training this afternoon.

"By any chance have you seen Sakura," she asked the pink-haired kunoichi's teammates.

"No," Naruto said around a mouth full of ramen. "She said she was going to train with baa-chan today, so we haven't seen her."

"Oh dear," sighed Shizune. Her sigh caught the attention of the men at the ramen bar, and suddenly they were wondering what Shizune knew that they did not.

"Why are you asking about her," Yamato asked.

"Well, Tsunade said something about making training ten times harder today just because Sakura was late. And she wasn't really late, she never leaves her hospital shifts when she is supposed to," Shizune muttered. "So I was just wondering how she survived the training session."

The men of Team Kakashi made eye contact amongst themselves, and with practiced silent communication divided up the city limits to look for their friend.

Before Shizune could say anything else, Team Kakashi rose from their seats and left money on the counter to pay for their meals. Even Naruto got up from a half-full bowl of ramen to search for Sakura.

* * *

Kakashi had been wandering the streets around Hokage Tower when he ran into Genma.

"You haven't by any chance seen Sakura, have you?" he asked his senbon-sucking friend.

A slow grin spread across Genma's face. Genma took a few steps closer to Kakashi, and immediately Kakashi smelled the alcohol coming off of the special jonin.

Genma looped an arm around Kakashi's neck and slurred, "Sure have. She's so hot in just her bra and those tight training shorts. If I could die and come back as anything I wanted, I'd want to be those shorts."

Kakashi swallowed his building rage and confusion at Genma's drunken non-sense, and asked, "Where did you see her?"

Genma snorted and managed to choke out, "In my dreams." He then fell into giddy, drunken laughter.

Kakashi shook his head and prised Genma's arm off of his shoulders. At the loss of his crutch, Genma tipped right over, and landed on his side.

Thinking that he wouldn't be getting any more out of the drunken ninja, Kakashi turned away.

"Your pretty flower is at the bar, you better get to her quickly, she's wilting," Genma slurred thickly at Kakashi as he picked himself up off of the floor, suddenly seeming a lot more sober that he was when Kakashi was paying attention to him.

Kakashi shook his head in dismay and headed over to the bar.

* * *

Kakashi found Sakura in a booth, with the Hokage, at the back of the bar. Just as Genma had described, Sakura was in nothing but her black shorts and a lacy pink bra that perfectly matched both her hair and the flush of her cheeks.

Sakura's eyes landed on Kakashi, and she sprung from the booth.

"Kashi," she shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing the length of her body against his.

How much did she have to drink, he wondered. Kakashi stole a glance and the table and saw at least a dozen empty bottles of sake laying in varying upright states. He looked over at Tsunade, and found her hunched over staring down at an empty glass.

"You, you, you need to drink with us," Sakura said. And before Kakashi could tell Sakura that she had clearly already had enough, Sakura shoved him into the booth.

He turned to protest, but came face-to-face with Sakura who was crawling into his lap.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he placed his hands up to keep her from invading his personal space.

Sakura was not willing to be thwarted. She took him by the wrists, slid into his lap, and then wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sakura," he scolded, in a I-mean-business-young-lady voice.

Sakura smiled and turned to look at Kakashi over her shoulder. Her emerald eyes locked onto his slate-eye, and in the sexiest voice he had ever heard, she whispered, "Yes, sensei?"

The alarms went off in Kakashi's head, and before she could resist, Kakashi picked Sakura up by hold she had given him around her waist and plopped her down beside him on the inside of the booth. There would be no lap-sitting if she was going to use that sex-laden tone with him.

Tsunade looked up from her empty glass at the two ninja in front of her. "Get a room," she drunkenly muttered.

Kakashi tried to not hyperventilate. Had she seriously just encouraged them to go have sex.

He nearly died when Sakura started shoving him out of the booth.

"What are you doing," he asked, not sure of what he wanted to hear.

"I am getting more to drink," she stated, as if that was obvious.

"That's my good-for-something apprentice!" Tsunade raised an arm in the air in celebration of more alcohol.

Sakura raised her arm to join in the celebration, lost her balance, and landed face-first into Kakashi's lap.

Kakashi, taking advantage of his speed as a ninja, was immediately out of the booth. That never happened, he repeated to himself.

While Kakashi was trying to convince himself that Sakura had not in fact had a face-full of his crotch, Sakura drunkenly made her way out of the booth and over to the bar. By the time he snapped back into reality, Sakura had returned with another bottle of sake and an extra cup for Kakashi.

Sakura slid into the booth, and used her entire focus to pour the sake into the three glasses on the table. She then shoved one at Tsunade, one at Kakashi, and took one for herself.

Sakura and Tsunade raised their glasses and shouted, "Cheers!"

Kakashi watched in shock and awe as the two women chugged their entire glasses in one go. The empty

glasses hit the table followed shortly by the Hokage's head.

"Finally," muttered Sakura in relief.

Sakura turned to Kakashi and shoved his drink closer to him.

"I really don't drink," he explained.

Sakura pouted, and said, "Please." She rubbed her hand in a small circle on the booth next to her and then patted it twice, inviting Kakashi to sit beside her.

Kakashi slumped his shoulders in defeat and slid into the booth beside Sakura. She sure is a cute drunk, he thought.

He picked up his glass and took a sip through his mask.

Sakura laughed.

"We don't sip our alcohol here," she instructed.

Sakura waited for Kakashi to bring the glass to his lips again, and then placed her fingertips on the bottom of the cup tilting up until it all had gone down his throat. She let him lower the glass and then turned all of her attention to his face.

She turned in the booth and raised her hands to his face. Without asking permission, she pulled his forehead protector up to gaze into his mismatched eyes. Kakashi saw that her eyes had softened as she looked into his, and he felt his throat tighten with emotion. Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but shut it as if she changed her mind.

And then she whispered, "You know, I think I am in lo-"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto shouted. Sakura lost focus on Kakashi, and turned to see her orange-clad friend.

"Naruto!" Sakura dived out of the booth and straight at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened as he bent to catch her.

"Careful, you could have ended up on the floor," he said grinning as his hands touched the smooth skin on her back.

"Don't worry, Kakashi would have caught me if you had missed," she explained as if that were obvious.

And sure-enough, Kakashi was leaning slightly out of the booth, ready to catch her should she have needed it.


	9. R Rival

R – Rival

"Kakashi, my eternal rival!" Gai shouted across the crowded bar. "I have a challenge among challenges for you tonight! It will be a trial of wits and clever repartee."

Kakashi stood staring at his green spandex-clad friend and prepared himself for the worse. It was always easier to just go along with Gai's challenges than to spend the whole evening declining a co-starring role in Gai's youthful endeavors.

Gai took Kakashi's passive reaction as one of acceptance to his challenge, and walked straight over the Copy Nin. Clasping a large arm around Kakashi's shoulders, Gai led Kakashi across the bar to a table where Jiraiya, Genma, Sakura and Ino sat.

"Tonight, my friend, we shall fight for the hearts of these two youthful flowers," Gai explained as he held out an arm, gesturing to a snickering Ino and a flat-out laughing Sakura.

"Make me want you," Sakura gasped out between full-belly laughs. Tears were gather at the corners of her eyes in response to her mirth.

Kakashi was frozen. He wanted to turn back time, and have Gai repeat that. Did he really want him to try and woo Sakura and her best friend. And why were Jiraiya and Genma sitting there too?

"Kakashi, first you shall try your smooth moves on Ino and I shall try my hardest to win the affection of Sakura. Genma and Jiraiya will judge which of us was the best, um," he paused, pulled a piece of paper from his vest, read it, and then continued, "pick-on artist."

"Pick-up, it's pick-up," Genma shouted while Sakura tried to best to reign in another bout of laughter.

Sakura failed miserably. She snorted several times, and had to put her head between her legs to avoid fainting from loss of oxygen.

When her laughs subsided, Sakura kicked out the chair beside her and slapped her hand loudly on the seat.

"Get over here, you Green Beast," she shouted full of glee.

Judging from Sakura's excitement, Kakashi decided to give this challenge a shot. At the very least, he could watch Gai flounder while he attempted to woo his pink-haired teammate.

Kakashi watched Gai sit beside Sakura, and saw Sakura grab the back of Gai's chair and drag him closer to her. Kakashi shook his head at her antics, she was clearly looking forward to seeing Gai's seduction techniques in action.

Instead, Kakashi turned his attention on Ino, who was staring at him intently. Oh man, I don't know if I can do this, he thought.

With a deep breath, he sat down in the seat beside Ino. He gave Ino a nod, and then blanked on what to do next.

Taking a cue from Sakura, he slid his seat closer to Ino. He glanced over his shoulder at Sakura and Gai, and saw Sakura leaning in towards Gai with a huge smile plastered on her face. She reached out and started fiddling with Gai's vest.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he drew in a soft breath. What was she trying to do? I thought that Gai was supposed to seduce her, not the other way around.

The sound of Ino clearing her throat brought Kakashi's attention back to the woman he was supposed to flirt with. He stared at Ino and tried to think about how to go about wooing the blond in front of him. He was surprised to find his mind completely blank.

Kakashi thought for a moment about how he usually attracted the attention of women, and then realized that he was quite passive in the whole process. Women usually came to him already interested. His reputation in the bedroom preceded him and was enough to entice those interested in him into approaching him.

Shit, I am going to lose to Gai at seduction, was the dominant thought in his head. How would he ever live that down?

To Ino, Kakashi looked like a deer caught in headlights, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"How about you start by offering to buy me a drink," Ino suggested.

A drink, yes that is brilliant, Kakashi thought.

"May I buy you a drink," he asked.

"No," Ino replied, turning her face away from him.

Kakashi's mind reeled at Ino's refusal. Is she going to play hard to get? Why couldn't she be as receptive as Sakura? This contest is fixed, he thought. He concluded that he needed to turn it up a notch. He shuffled through all of the Icha Icha that he had read and smiled when he found a scene that would work.

He leaned closer to Ino and tilted his headband up to lock eyes with hers. He brought his fingers to the ends of her platinum locks, and whispered, "Nothing would make me happier than if you let me buy you a drink. I would like to hear about your day over a nice glass of wine."

Without waiting for a response, he brought the tips of Ino's hair to his masked covered lips.

Kakashi stared intently into Ino's eyes as he let her locks slide from his fingers; his face was the perfect picture of sincerity.

Ino blinked once, then twice. She flushed in embarrassment and self-consciousness. She croaked in response, and swallowed to make her voice work.

"Okay," she whispered, nodding in response.

"I'll be right back. Wait for me," he whispered against her ear, his masked covered lips skimming over the shell of her ear as he spoke. He let his lips slide across her cheek as he stood, and then swaggered over to the bar. His usually lazy posture and dirty book were no where in sight; instead, his shoulders were square and his head was held high.

Ino could look at nothing but Kakashi. She was wondering who this man was, and what had happened to Sakura's silent teammate who would rather read his book than carry on a conversation.

Kakashi returned with two glasses of red wine. He handed Ino her glass and placed his on the table as he sat back down beside her. He turned back to Ino and gently cupped her chin as he stared into her eyes.

"Your eyes are so beautiful," he whispered reverently. He leaned forward to get a closer look, still gently grasping her chin. "Bluer than the deepest ocean; I find myself drowning in the depths of your soul."

Ino was speechless. Her mouth had fallen open in the shape of an 'O', her heart had sped up, and she felt her nipples tighten against her bindings.

Kakashi was so close to her face, staring deep into Ino's eyes, and Ino could not help but be sucked in. She felt herself lean in towards Kakashi's face, wanting to press her lips to his, but was startled out of their connection by the sound of a yelp followed closely by the clatter of a chair falling backwards onto the ground.

Kakashi and Ino turned to see Gai standing up a foot away from Sakura. Sakura's head was tipped back, and laughter was bubbling from her lips. Gai's face was completely red, and he seemed incapable of forming words let alone a coherent sentence. He turned to upright his chair which had fallen when he had jumped out of his seat in response to Sakura laying a hand on his inner thigh.

He cleared his throat, and turned to look at Kakashi.

"It seems that Sakura is already quite taken with me. Although, I cannot blame this youthful flower for being attracted to my youthful nature. Perhaps we should switch youthful companions and continue this youthful contest," he said. Kakashi could sense that his friend was quite nervous; even for Gai, he had used more "youthful"s than usual in that explanation.

Kakashi sent a nod at Gai, and Gai breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura got up, shot a playful smirk over to Kakashi, and then smacked Gai on the behind.

"Thanks for the fun," she said with a flirty giggle.

Sakura walked over to Ino, and Ino reluctantly relinquished her seat beside Kakashi.

Sakura slid into the chair beside Kakashi and toned down her huge grin into a seductive smirk. She leaned into the Copy Nin and met his mismatched eyes with her own.

"Now," she said, "try your best. But don't think anything from Icha Icha will work on me. Unlike Ino, I've read them all." She licked her lips, lowered her voice, and added in a sultry tone, "At least twice."

Kakashi forced himself to maintain her gaze and proximity, and replied, "Are you sure nothing from Icha Icha can work on you? If that's what you think, then you are clearly sleeping with the wrong men."

Sakura's eyes widened, Genma's senbon fell from his lips as his jaw fell open, and Jiraiya spat his drink out across the table.

Kakashi wanted to smack his head against the table, not being able to believe those words passed through his lips.

However, Sakura found her wits, rallied herself to one-up him, and purred, "Perhaps I have. Would you be willing to set me straight, sensei?"

Kakashi's mouth went dry, Genma fainted, and Jiraiya's nose began to trickle blood.

"Hmmm," she purred. "I think I win."

"That you do," Kakashi said as he stood up. Sakura shot him a confused look, but was answered by being tossed over his shoulder and carried out of the bar.


	10. G Gloves

G- Gloves

When Sakura slid on her black fingerless gloves, everyone knew she meant business. Therefore, Hatake Kakashi could not understand why Sakura started to put on her gloves the moment she laid eyes on him.

Sakura's eyes were narrowed, her lips were pinched, and she was stomping right towards her former teacher.

Kakashi raised a hand in greeting, and, in hopes of defusing the situation, gave Sakura his usual, "Yo."

"Yo?" she seethed between gritted teeth. "Is that all you have to say? Just yo?"

Kakashi took a step back, and Sakura took two towards him. They repeated this dance two more time times, until Kakashi's back had hit the wall of the local green-grocer and Sakura pressed her body into his.

Kakashi gulped, and he wasn't sure whether it was due to his fear or enjoyment of Sakura's proximity.

"I will give you one chance to explain yourself, Kakashi. One chance. And no, 'I got lost on the road of life,' excuses. I want a real explanation. Otherwise, I am going to punch you all the way to the Hokage monument."

Kakashi had no idea what she was talking about. It was clear that he was late for something, something he couldn't remember. How was he going to get out of this one? It seemed that honesty was his only option.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. Clearly I was to meet you somewhere, but for the life of me I cannot remember making plans with you for today."

"You don't remember? How could you not remember?" And suddenly the anger in Sakura's face melted into sorrow.

"You promised you'd remember," she whispered before she took a step back and turned away from Kakashi.

Kakashi mourned the loss of the feel of her body against his. He leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have her shrug it away.

"Don't," she whispered. Her voice sounded thick, and Kakashi realized that she had turned her head from him to hide the tears in her eyes.

"Sakura, please," he begged. Kakashi was concerned about Sakura. She rarely became this upset anymore; she was no longer the little girl who cried over spilled milk. In fact, the last time he had seen her cry was months ago when she had lost a patient on the operating room table.

Sakura looked up at Kakashi and he could see her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

"Please tell me what we were supposed to do. I'll drop everything and we'll go do it right now," he pleaded.

"Really," she asked, her eyes now shining in hope.

"Yes, really," Kakashi replied, taking Sakura's hand.

Sakura smiled brilliantly at Kakashi, and started to lead him towards the Hokage tower.

"So what was I late for," he asked, praying that Sakura wouldn't distance herself from him again.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled impishly at him.

"You really don't remember our little talk from last night?"

Kakashi tried to recall last night, and realized that most of it was a blank. He had gone to the bar with Genma, and then Gai had shown up and challenged him to a "vodka-off," which in Gai-speak translates to chugging as much vodka as possible as fast as possible. Kakashi vaguely remembered winning, but the rest was a bit of a wash. How did he even get home, he wondered.

Sakura drew him out of his memory when she started to speak.

"We were both pretty drunk last night, and I confessed that I didn't think anyone would ever be willing to marry me."

Kakashi scoffed, and Sakura couldn't help but smile at his reaction.

"So you said that you would marry me, and that you would do it today," she finished, looking at Kakashi expectantly.

Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks.

"Sorry, run that by me one more time," he asked. Clearly he had misheard her, right?

"You said you would marry me, which is why we are going to see Tsunade," she explained again. Then she turned her tear-filled eyes on him, "You will marry me, right?"

Sakura's lower lip started to tremble in anticipation of rejection as she stared at Kakashi, and Kakashi felt his heart ache.

"Okay," he whispered, pulling Sakura into a light hug. Sakura gave him a misty eyed smile in return.

Sakura led Kakashi in to Tsunade's office, and Kakashi was confused by the presence of Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Yamato.

"Holy crap," Naruto exclaimed. "How the hell did you get Kakashi to a mission briefing on time?"

"Mission briefing?" Kakashi whispered as he turned to Sakura.

"She probably threatened to beat the pulp out of him," Sasuke suggested, gesturing to Sakura's glove-encased hands.

Naruto and Sai nodded in understanding.

"Nope," Sakura replied with a smile. "Just good acting." And then she turned to smile mischievously at Kakashi.

"Actually, she made me an offer that I couldn't refuse," Kakashi said, still staring at Sakura.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Did he actually want to marry her, she wondered. Perhaps she would have to see if Tsunade could spare them some time after the briefing.


	11. W Wisdom

W - Wisdom

Sakura and Jiraiya were sitting at a two-seater high-top table in the back of the local jonin bar. Their heads were close together as they spoke in hushed whispers. At some point, Jiraiya had pulled out a notebook and had begun to take copious notes.

The rest of Team Kakashi watched the two from across the bar.

"What could Sakura want with Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"Maybe she is giving him book ideas," Sasuke joked.

Naruto's eyes enlarged to the size of saucers, and he stood up in order to fetch Sakura.

"Sit down, Naruto," Kakashi ordered. "Sasuke was just joking."

Naruto sat down slowly, debating whether Kakashi was right.

When Naruto had finally reseated himself, Kakashi let his gaze travel back to Sakura. He was surprised to find her gesturing erratically, and Jiraiya looking at her slightly confused. What were they talking about, he wondered.

And then, an exasperated Sakura reached into her medic pouch and pulled out a rather well-worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise. She thumbed through it until she found a particular page, placed it on the table and slid it over to Jiraiya. Jiraiya inspected the page and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Jiraiya began to start pointing at the picture and talking. At this point, Kakashi was dying to know what they were talking about. So, in order to read their lips, he pushed up his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan eye. The tomoe slowly started to swirl as he focused some chakra into his eye to better read their lips.

"...and then raise your leg until it's pressed against your chest, that will change the angle of penetration. It will drive him crazy," Jiraiya finished. Kakashi suddenly felt like he was drowning, it was hard to take in air. What the heck were they talking about?

He looked over at Sakura and saw that she was nodding in understanding, and then she asked, "Should I keep my leg straight or bent at the knee?"

"Can you keep your leg straight in this position?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

"Sure, I am really flexible," Sakura replied.

One thousand sexual positions ran through Kakashi's head where flexibility would be a major asset. He was so caught up in picturing Sakura in each of these positions that he forgot to breathe. The room began to spin, and Kakashi took in a sharp breath of air.

Kakashi's gasp for breath had everyone at the table turning to look at him.

They all saw that he had revealed his sharingan, and Naruto couldn't help but ask, "What are they saying?"

Kakashi's head snapped towards Naruto, and he choked out a non-committal noise.

Sasuke snorted, and asked the same question, "What are they saying?"

When Kakashi failed to respond, Sasuke activated his own sharingan and turned to look at Sakura and Jiraiya. Sakura had started to flip through Icha Icha Paradise again.

Yamato, Naruto and Sai turned their attention on the last Uchiha. They watched as his eyes widened and blood started to slowly trickle from his nose.

"What are they saying?"

"Speed... Angle... Rhythm... Depth..." He muttered before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out.

"Eh?" Naruto exclaimed. "What does that even mean?"

Kakashi immediately started laughing at Sasuke's reaction, and missed Sakura's approach.

Sakura slid into the seat beside Kakashi and asked, "What's so funny?"

Sakura's voice jerked Kakashi from his laughter and he turned to face her. Before he could stop himself, he conjured a mental image of Sakura and himself tangled in an extremely complicated sexual position.

Sakura was confused by Kakashi's blank stare, so she waved a hand in front of his face. The motion jarred Kakashi from his fantasy and he shook his head to clear the tempting images painting his imagination.

"You okay?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Kakashi gave a quick nod, and Sakura smiled.

Sakura turned back to the table to see a passed out Sasuke.

"Did he drink to much? He rarely overindulges," she inquired.

"Nah, he fainted," Naruto told her. He gave Sasuke a hard poke to rouse him from his unconsciousness. "More importantly, why were you talking with Ero-sennin?"

Sasuke sat up and and brought a hand up to his head. The room had stopped spinning, and he looked up at Sakura. A faint blush spread across his face.

"Oh, Jiraiya?" she asked. "I was just asking him for sex advice."

Sasuke passed out again, and the rest of Team Kakashi settled for gaping at her.

She looked at their incredulous expressions, and then started laughing.

"Don't look so scandalized. He is Konoha's resident sexpert. Although I do need someone to help me practice what he taught me."

She pulled out her Icha Icha, flipped it open and showed it to Kakashi.

"You're pretty familiar with his work, have you ever tried this one?" she asked the Copy Nin.

Kakashi looked down at a familiar picture, seeing as he had read Icha Icha Paradise several hundred times. However, this page was completely unlike his own; Sakura's page was annotated in her neat flowing script. He read her notes and wondered just how many times she had tried this position.

"No matter what I do, I can't seem to get the mechanics of this one down. Do you think you could help me, Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked up from the page to Sakura's face. She looked back at him; her facial expression was neutral, as if she didn't really care whether he accepted her proposition or not.

Kakashi swallowed the lump in his throat; but before he could respond, Naruto's fist made contact with his chin.

"You can't take advantage of Sakura!"

Shit, how did he forget their whole team was there?


	12. E Exhaustion

E - Exhaustion

The sun was rising, and Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on the red bridge waiting for Sakura and Kakashi to arrive. Sai and Yamato were out on a mission, and today's training session was going to be quite nostalgic with only the former members of Team Seven in attendance.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto whined.

"She's pulling a grave-yard shift at the hospital, so she'll be here soon," Sasuke replied, his gaze off in the direction Sakura should be coming from.

Naruto turned to watch for her as well.

And as if summoned by their attention, pink hair appeared above the horizon. Naruto and Sasuke watched as Sakura made her way towards them.

Sakura was not dressed in her usual training outfit; instead, she wore the new standard hospital medic uniform: a fitted white button-up blouse and a matching short white skirt. Sakura had rolled her sleeves up above her elbows and unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse, revealing a fair amount of cleavage. She had permanently altered her skirt, adding a slit on either side to improve mobility.

As Sakura made her way towards her teammates, the sun began to peek up above the horizon and set her messy pink hair on fire. The sun also made her short skirt see-through, so her legs where silhouetted by the material.

Naruto and Sasuke were speechless.

"'Morning," she said, as she sat down beside Naruto and stretched her long legs out across the bridge. Sakura's greeting snapped Naruto and Sasuke back into reality.

"Good morning," Sasuke muttered. Sakura yawned in response, and she brought up a hand to cover her mouth.

"Sorry," she muttered. "Rough night. There was an ambush right near the gates; had me in surgery for hours." She yawned again.

"Maybe you should go home and get some sleep," Naruto suggested.

Sakura smiled and bumped her shoulder against his.

"I'm good, my feet just need a quick rest. Good thing we have some time before Kakashi gets here," she said; and even though her smile was tired, Naruto could tell that it was genuine. She laid her head against Naruto's shoulder, and looked across the bridge at Sasuke.

She yawned again, shut her eyes, and nuzzled Naruto's arm with her forehead. Naruto chuckled, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to make her more comfortable.

Sakura let out a soft sigh as she snuggled into Naruto's side.

"I'm not tired," she whispered against Naruto's chest.

Sasuke snorted, and then he slid over and placed Sakura's feet in his lap. She cracked an eye open to stare at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, managing to sound incredulous, even in her exhausted state.

Sasuke didn't reply. He just took off her shoes, which caused Sakura to raise an eyebrow.

And then, Sasuke pressed his thumbs into the arches of Sakura's feet. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her eye lids fluttered shut and her back arched.

"Oh man, don't tease me if you don't plan on keeping that up," she warned.

Sasuke chuckled and continued to massage her feet.

Sakura let her weight push into Naruto, and she quickly feel asleep under Sasuke's ministrations.

* * *

Sakura awoke to find that she was laying on something warm. She took a deep breath in and could smell soap and a familiar underlying masculine scent. She let out the breath and opened her eyes.

She saw that she was laying on a man's chest, her hips situated between his legs. In her sleep, her hand had grasped his jonin shirt; she forced open her stiff hand to release the fabric. She smoothed the shirt out and looked up to see Kakashi staring down at her intently.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked softly.

Sakura blushed, and replied, "Yes. But I don't recall falling asleep on you."

Kakashi chuckled, and Sakura could feel the gentle rumble of his chest.

"You fell asleep on Naruto. I picked you up and brought you here so Naruto and Sasuke could spar," he explained.

"Ah," Sakura said, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry for putting you out."

Kakashi smiled at her through his mask, and brought his hand up to run through her hair.

"It was no trouble. You're welcome to nap in my lap any time."

Sakura, having woken up more, smiled at Kakashi flirtatiously.

"Is that all I can do in you lap?" she purred, her eyes darkening with passion, her hands traveling down his battle-hardened torso.

Kakashi swallowed. Before he could generate a comeback, Sakura pushed herself up into a sitting position, and then, with a bit of effort, she stood.

Still standing between Kakashi's legs, Sakura brought her arms up and stretched out her back. She moaned softly as she arched her back. Her gaze traveled down to Kakashi.

Kakashi was transfixed by Sakura. He watched her from below as her body stretched and moved. And all he could think about was her arching her back and moaning in his lap.

Sakura continued to stare at Kakashi. He was clearly lost to the thoughts in his head, because he was looking at her unseeingly.

"Shall we?" she asked, holding her hand out to the Copy Nin.

"Shall we what?" he replied suspiciously. She certainly had a way of leading him on and letting him down. She had turned into quite the tease. A beautiful tease, but a tease nonetheless.

"Spar?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow in equal suspicion. "What else would I mean?"

Kakashi cleared his throat. He contemplated pushing the issue of her finding out just what she could do in his lap.

As if Sakura read his mind, she bent at the waist and leaned toward the still-seated Kakashi. Her new position gave Kakashi a good view of her cleavage and he could see she wore a white lacy bra beneath her medic outfit.

Before he could imagine just what she would look like in only her bra and possibly a matching white lace thong, Sakura whispered, "We could go back to my place and follow-up my earlier question."

The pink-haired vixen righted herself and took a step back from Kakashi. Her eyes were watching his, trying to decipher just what he would choose.

Kakashi broke their connection and stood up.

"Let's see what you got," he challenged, getting into a fighting stance.

Sakura's eyes widened, and a grin spread across her face. Apparently, Kakashi was going to be the tease today. But Sakura knew that he wouldn't resist her charms much longer.


	13. C Curtains

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter is rated M. All previous chapters are rated T. Please do not read if you are offended by strong sexual themes, explicit sexual content, partial nudity, sexual innuendo, and/or large amounts of fan service.

C – Curtains

Kakashi bit down on the junction of Sakura's neck and shoulder, and Sakura hissed in appreciation. He released his hold on her delicate skin with his teeth, and began to suck and tongue the area. His hands traveled down her bare back to rest firmly on her rear.

Sakura responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and grinding herself against him. He groaned at the new warmth pressed against his groin, and unconsciously took two steps towards Sakura's desk, his mouth exploring her collarbone. He placed her down on the desk and slid his hands up to her hips to hold her still as he ground himself roughly against her.

Sakura's back arched, her lips parted, her breath had turned to pants. Kakashi separated his mouth from her shoulder to take a good look at his partner through half-lidded eyes.

Her breasts were full and round, accented by hardened peaks. Her stomach was tight and toned, with a matte belly-button ring resting unassumingly in the inward curve of her belly. Her short white medic skirt had bunched up around her hips to reveal a plain pair of white bikini briefs. He couldn't help but chuckle at her plain undergarments; they did not suit her exotic beauty.

Sakura growled in response to his low laughter, and grabbed his vest.

"Just what do you find funny, Kakashi?" she seethed, giving him a small shake by her hold on his vest. Apparently a nearly naked, very aroused Sakura did not find Kakashi's laughter endearing.

But Kakashi just smirked and whispered, "They are white." He exaggerated the movement of his eyes down to her panties.

"Oh... Well, anything else shows through," she muttered, her anger quickly abated.

With a quick jerk, Kakashi found his mouth being attacked by Sakura's lips, tongue and teeth. Her hands released her firm hold on his vest and traveled up his chest to his neck. She drew his face against her deepening their kiss. Her fingers continued their quest up and tangled in his gravity-defying hair. She tugged his locks, and swallowed his answering moan with their kiss.

While Kakashi enjoyed Sakura's exhibition of dominance, he certainly wasn't going to be out-done by a woman fourteen years his junior. He dragged his hands up her bare sides, and she shuddered at the feeling of his rough gloves and calloused fingers rubbing against her soft skin. He brought one hand around her front to cup her breast while he let the other trail down her back to grasp her rear.

Kakashi's lips made their way across her cheek, down her neck, past her clavicle, and down to her fleshy mound. Simultaneously, he took her hardened peak between his lips and pulled her towards the edge of the desk to grind her core against his hardened manhood.

Sakura's eyes rolled into the back of her head and Kakashi coaxed a low moan from her throat with a slow thrust against her. He continued to grind against her while his lips, teeth and fingers played at her nipples.

While Kakashi was occupied, Sakura traced a path down his torso with her hands until she reached his belt buckle. She quickly unfastened his belt and began to nimbly unbutton his fly. Kakashi drew away from her breasts to look up at her in surprise. The absence of his mouth on her heated flesh had her opening her eyes to meet his widened mismatched ones, and she couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Neither of us is interested in a quick dry-hump on my desk. So, I am going to have to take your pants off," she instructed in her best clinical tone.

Kakashi buried his face between her breasts and let out a low chuckle.

"Doctor's orders?" he asked, glancing up at her. His grin still hidden between her mounds.

"For goodness sake," she huffed and yanked his pants down, bringing his underwear with them. She took a hold of his length and muttered, "Stop making jokes."

She gave a firm stroke to his hardened flesh and the laughter in Kakashi's face melted away into something much darker, something that promised that she was in for a lot of pleasure.

Sakura raised a corner of her mouth in a seductive smirk and Kakashi couldn't help but take her lips in a heated kiss. His hardened length pressed against Sakura's wet panties and Sakura cried out in pleasure.

Kakashi reached down, pushed the crotch of her panties aside, and began to rub his length along her wetness to gather her juices.

Her eyes found his before he quickly thrust up and into her awaiting warmth. She was wet, but tight, and Kakashi could help but growl at the sensation of her enveloping him, the rhythmic contractions of her muscles attempting to pull him deeper.

Sakura's eyes were squeezed tight in pleasure. He knew that she liked her sex a little rough after she chastised him their first time together. She straight out told him that she wasn't going to break, and even if she did, she could fix whatever damage was done. In fact, she had demonstrated her bodies innate ability to heal itself of minor injuries by having him watch as his own love-bites quickly disappeared through no effort of her own.

Kakashi took on a fast and hard pace, and Sakura had to bite down onto his vest to keep from screaming in pleasure and attracting the attention of people outside her office. She brought her heels up onto the edge of the desk for better leverage and reached down between them to where they were joined. Her fingers began to rub firmly against her clitoris and her low moans against Kakashi's chest turned to harsh whimpers.

Kakashi couldn't quite figure out how he had ended up taking his former student/occasional teammate/ usual medic on her desk in her office at the hospital. He had arrived just ten minutes ago to inform her of a problem that had come to his attention the day before.

* * *

The previous day, Kakashi had been aimlessly wandering around Konoha with his head stuck in a book when three chunin caught his attention. The sight of three teenage ninjas sneaking around humming the Mission Impossible theme song forced a smile onto his face and he couldn't help but lower his book and follow them to see what they were up to.

He was surprised to find himself heading around the side of the hospital, and couldn't help but wonder what these boys were looking for here. And then he saw that they were heading straight towards a tree. Perhaps they were looking for some shade, he thought.

One after the other, the three chunin jumped up into the tree.

"Move over," one shouted.

"It's not fair. You had the best seat last time," another replied.

"Keep it down," the last replied. "We don't want her to hear us."

Kakashi finally understood what those three Jiraiya-in-training chunin were up to. They were here to peep on a woman. Patient or staff, he wondered briefly.

Kakashi silently hopped up onto the branch the three chunin were sitting on to take a look at just who these three were so intent on spying on. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he saw.

Across from the tree branch, on the second floor of the hospital was a large window. The window was open to let in a light breeze. Within the office was none other than Haruno Sakura. and she was in the middle of changing out of her medic uniform.

Her white button-up blouse had been neatly folded on her desk beside a pile of her usual training clothes, and she was in the process of bending down and pulling off her skirt. Her pink hair caught the sunlight just right and sparkled as it swayed with every slight movement. Kakashi was mesmerized.

Sakura righted her body and began to fold her skirt in front of her, blocking the sight of her body with her arms and the white material of the skirt. She turned and placed her skirt on the desk and gave Kakashi and the three chunin a side view of her in her white lace panties and matching bra. She turned back to the window and raised her hands above her head for a quick stretch, and the chunin beside Kakashi gasped at the sight.

The gasp caused Kakashi to recall that he was not alone in the tree witnessing Sakura disrobe. He turned towards the boys to see them all captivated by the pink-haired kunoichi, not that he could blame them. Little did they know that they were in for a world of pain.

Kakashi loudly cleared his throat and focused his glare at the boy beside him. The chunin slowly turned their heads to stare up at Kakashi.

"We're dead," one of them whispered. And from the looks of terror painting the faces of the other two boys, Kakashi could tell that they agreed.

Kakashi slowly raised one arm and pointed in the opposite direction of the hospital.

"Run," he ordered, as he pushed up his forehead protector with his free hand to reveal his slowly swirling Sharingan eye. Both of his eyes narrowed dangerously.

The boys took off as soon as the monosyllabic threat left his lips, actually using their ninja skills to get away as quickly as possible.

Kakashi felt his leg muscles clench in anticipation of chasing those three, and he forced himself to take a deep calming breath. He knew that if he pursued those chunin, he would most likely kill them. And he was certain that neither the Hokage nor Sakura would be particularly forgiving of such an act even under these particular circumstances. If anything, those two were probably the biggest hypocrites in all of Konoha seeing as they would probably beat those three senseless if they were in his position.

He sighed as he slid his headband back down over his eye and leaned his body against the tree's large trunk. His pulse evened out, and his head turned back to look into Sakura's window. Kakashi saw that she was now fully dressed in her training outfit: a short black pleated skirt and a fitted red sleeveless top. The zipper down the front of Sakura's top was only pulled up to the bottom of her breasts and he could see that she had changed her bra from the white lace number to something shiny and black. He growled at the fact that she had given a more revealing show than he expected and that he had missed it. He was also angered by the fact that those boys had figured out just when she would be changing with her curtains open.

Thinking about curtains, Kakashi's eyes traced the outline of her window. He was surprised to find that there were no curtains for her to close; nor were their blinds or any other type of window dressing. This just wouldn't do. But how would he suggest she put up some curtains and close them when she needed privacy without explaining to her what happened this afternoon. He most certainly did not want to be the one to tell her that she has been giving free shows to the chunin. Sakura had a tendency to take her temper out on the messenger.

He was in need of advice, and where better to get it than from Konoha's number one peeping tom: Jiraiya.

That night he hurried into the local jonin pub, and easily located Jiraiya in the back of the bar. Jiraiya was in the middle of a drinking contest with Gai and Genma, but that did not deter Kakashi from pulling up a chair and slumping down at the table.

Jiraiya, Gai and Genma put down their next shot, and turned to look at the distressed Copy Nin.

"My eternal rival, what has dampened your youthfulness?" Gai inquired.

"I have a problem," Kakashi admitted, glancing over his shoulder at his usual table where Sakura sat talking enthusiastically with their teammates.

"Let me guess, you have an unhealthy obsession with my well-written works," Jiraiya put forth. "Not that I can blame you," he added.

Kakashi's head whipped over to Jiraiya and before he could reply he was cut off by a snort from Genma.

"I believe he has an unhealthy obsession with a certain pink-haired kunoichi," Genma corrected.

Kakashi's eyes widened and his mouth was agape. "N-No!" he spluttered defensively.

Genma tilted his head in mock interest, and asked, "Well then, just what is you problem?"

Kakashi sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"It's Sakura..." Kakashi started. He shot a quick glare at Genma to halt the shit-eating grin before it began to spread across the senbon-suckers face.

"She doesn't have any curtains in her office," Kakashi added, as if that explained everything.

The three men at the table just gave him a blank look, hoping he would add in what that had to do with anything.

Kakashi met their drunken blank stares. When advice about what he should do about this did not start pouring in, he realized that they had no idea what he was talking about.

He sighed again; he was doing that a lot today.

"Let me explain. This afternoon, I followed these chunin to a tree beside the hospital. And the large bough of the tree offers a perfect view into Sakura's office." He scanned their faces for a trace of understanding. Nothing. "The chunin arrived at the tree just in time to see Sakura changing out of her medic uniform into her training clothes. They must have figured out her schedule or something."

He looked at the three men again.

"She doesn't have any curtains in her office?" Jiraiya reiterated in a tone that was a cross between reverence, lust and opportunity.

A feral grin spread across Genma's face as he asked, "No window dressings at all?"

"What an exhibition of youth!" Gai proclaimed, raising an arm in the air to emphasize his exclamation. Everyone at the table turned to look at Gai in shock. Had he just implied that he was excited by a naked woman?

Gai simply shrugged and added a less exuberant, "What? While I am no longer in the springtime of my youth, our beautiful flower certainly is."

"So what should I do about this?" Kakashi asked, turning the attention back to the matter at hand, as opposed to the revelation that Gai even thought about beautiful women.

"I think I need to check out this tree," Jiraiya said with a sagely nod. "When does her shift end tomorrow?"

"Three o'clock," Kakashi said, without considering the implications of Jiraiya's statement. When his meaning finally hit home, Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare."

Jiraiya held up his hands defensively. "It was just a joke. Really."

"So what should I do?" Kakashi asked, his waning patience clear by his tone.

"Uh, you could tell her the truth," Genma offered, as if that was the most obvious solution.

"Would you like to be the one to tell her three teenagers have been peeping on her on a regular basis?" Kakashi asked, panic clear in his eye.

"Ah, you do have a good point," Genma conceded, his hand going to the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. "She certainly packs a punch."

Kakashi held out his hand in a that's-what-I-was-getting-at gesture.

Kakashi turned to Jiraiya, "You have a lot of experience with dealing with her sort of temper. What should I do?"

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi with pity for the only solution he could come up with was the one suggested by Genma.

"I am afraid, the only thing you have is the truth," Jiraiya replied. Jiraiya rose and walked over to Kakashi. With a rough slap on the back, he chuckled and added, "Take your beating like a man."

* * *

And so, Kakashi found himself at Sakura's office door at a quarter to three the next afternoon. He swallowed the lump in his throat, tried his best to push away the feeling of impending doom, and opened the door to Sakura's office.

He let himself in, and quietly closed the door behind him. When he looked up, he was surprised to find a mildly amused, topless, Sakura before him.

"Everything okay?" she asked, completely unaffected by her state of undress. She turned to her desk where she had placed her neatly folded blouse to lay her white bra on top.

Kakashi failed to respond to her simple question, and Sakura became slightly concerned for her friend. She looked up to see Kakashi staring at her, and she was able to track his gaze to her chest.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his behavior, it's not like he had never seen her breasts before. She snapped her fingers, and Kakashi slowly dragged his eyes up her body to her face. He felt himself drawn to the stunning woman before him, and he found his body moving further into the room without his conscious effort.

"Are you ill?" she inquired. She took two steps from her desk to close the distance between them and placed a hand against his forehead.

Kakashi licked his dry lips beneath his mask. He couldn't remember why he had come here and he felt himself draw slightly back from Sakura to regain his wits. He glanced out her window to see the tree that started this whole debacle and his purpose for coming to her office hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I have some bad news," he started.

Sakura's eyes widened in anticipation, her eyes searching the Copy Nin's face.

"Oh?" she gasped, trying her best not to jump to conclusions. She tried to keep her mind from flipping through images of her friends wondering which one had fallen, and how they had met their end.

"Sakura," Kakashi whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder, forgetting the fact that she was topless, "some chunin have been spying on you from the tree outside your window."

The fear on Sakura's face melted away in relief, and then was completely washed away when she started to laugh. She smacked Kakashi's arm in irritation, even though her face was covered in a wide grin.

"I can't believe you! I thought someone had died!" she exclaimed.

While she seemed angry at his poor delivery of this news, there didn't seem to be any anger in her face about the fact that she was being spied on.

"You aren't upset?" he asked, sounding almost disappointed that Sakura didn't give him the beating of a lifetime.

Sakura just laughed at his reaction.

"Of course not. Those buffoons never mask their chakra, I know when they are there."

Kakashi felt his brain scramble at his this new information. She didn't care that those undeserving, untalented, childish, idiotic chunin that hum the Mission Impossible theme song were watching her change?

"You don't care?" he asked, his voice strangely devoid of emotion.

Sakura just quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"The technical term for what I am is: exhibitionist," she said with a shrug.

Kakashi felt his anger start to simmer over his emotionless facade, and he found his fingers digging into her upper arms. Sakura looked down at his hands and back to his face.

"Is there a problem, Kakashi?" she asked, the humor leaking out of her and filling her eyes with something dark and angry.

"Yes," he growled, and he pulled her into a harsh kiss.

Sakura's anger was burned away by her growing passion, and she returned his kiss just as hard. She fought to draw her hands up between Kakashi's arms and his torso. When she succeeded she didn't hesitate to reach up and drag down his mask.

Kakashi groaned in approval, his fingers pressed even harder into the flesh of her bicep, and he plundered her mouth with his tongue. Sakura met his enthusiasm with her own, as she reached up to peel off his forehead protector and bury her fingers in his hair. She loved the feel of his locks between her fingers, and knew from their prior encounters that he enjoyed a fair amount of tugging on his hair. But Sakura had something else in mind. She gave his hair a sharp tug, and Kakashi pulled away from their impassioned kiss.

He met her eyes expecting her to appear apologetic for getting too rough, instead he found malicious intent in them.

"What was that for?" he asked, his hand coming up to make sure she hadn't pulled out any hair. When he found it was all there, he ran his fingers over his scalp to soothe the pain.

Sakura looked at him, her anger pressing hard against the dam of her self-control.

"Perhaps you should tell me what that hell you problem is instead of trying to kiss me senseless," she explained.

"You let them look at you!" Kakashi shouted.

"I do! And I like it!" Sakura yelled back, her self-control lost in a tidal wave of anger.

And then Kakashi looked at her, really looked at her. Not for the little girl he knew, but the beautiful woman she had become. Her eyes were alight with a fire, and her bare chest was heaving in exasperation.

"You don't own me," she said, her anger shrinking and her eyes giving off some of the pain she felt. "I don't ever want to be owned or told what to do."

The Copy Nin was left speechless. Her preferred her anger as opposed to the raw emotion she was given off. Hell, he was turned on by her anger. He didn't know what to do with this other side of Sakura, but he knew that he couldn't stay angry. She was right, he did not own her. And he wasn't exactly in a position to ask her to put up some freaking curtains; aside from being friends, they were only occasional bedfellows not exclusive lovers.

Kakashi brought his hands up to run through his hair, and then captured her eyes with his.

"I only want to be with you," he explained. Little did he know, his eyes were giving away how much he truly cared about her.

The look in his eyes had Sakura wondering whether Kakashi wanted more out of their relationship then he was currently getting from her. Her confusion was cut off by Kakashi.

"Sakura..." he pleaded, reaching out for her.

Sakura tried to swallow the growing emotion pressing firmly at the back of her throat, but found it unchanged by her attempts. Instead, she did the only she could, she reached back.

His hand slid easily into hers and he brought her into the tenderest of embraces, her face cradled against his shoulder while his arms wrapped firmly around her back.

Sakura looked up at his face and whispered, "Kiss me."

Kakashi bent his head down and pressed his lips gently against hers. The kiss started out soft and tender like his embrace. His tongue languidly explored her mouth, and when Sakura began to reciprocate, the kiss began to shift into one of passion.

After several moments, Sakura pulled away to look into Kakashi's mismatched eyes.

"It's not fair how well you do that," she whispered, her voice still breathy from their kiss.

"I do a lot of things well," he replied, a cocky smirk forming on his face. Yes, that was the look she loved; his confident sexual smirk that implied he could show her things that would turn her world upside down. Part of Sakura wanted him to show her just what he could do, and the other part wanted to show him just what she could do.

Figuring a little ego-boost would do him some good after that emotional outburst, she purred into his ear, "I know, but perhaps you can remind me."

Kakashi released a breath he didn't even know he was holding; he was relieved that that those brief moments of tension were washed away by their usual playful banter. He was also took it as a sign that he hadn't royally screwed up with Sakura.

Kakashi took no time in taking her lips with his, and then brought his talented mouth down her neck, sucking, licking and biting along the way. He reached her favorite spot, the junction between her shoulder and neck, and bit down as hard as he could without drawing blood. Sakura hissed in appreciation.

Which brings us back to where we began. Their kissing led to Sakura being propped up on the edge of her desk and Kakashi taking her right there in her office.

Kakashi was thrusting into her hard and fast, and Sakura was meeting each of his thrust with hard thrusts of her own, her fingers working furiously between her legs.

"Ah, I'm close," she gasped.

Kakashi could feel her muscles beginning to clench in anticipation of her orgasm, and he buried his face in the nape of her neck to let out a low groan. He took a deep breath and could smell the light floral scent of her shampoo mixing with the soft scent of her sweat. He tried to focus on the scent while he thrust into her, trying his best to maintain his rhythm to take her to completion.

Sakura's back arched at the feel of his breath against her neck, and her breasts rubbed against the rough fabric of his vest. The feel of her nipples scraping against his vest was enough to send her over the edge.

Kakashi lifted his head to see her head thrown back with her lips parted, her eyes were clenched tight.

When he felt her contractions slow to a halt, Sakura opened her eyes to meet his. She picked the hand up that she was using to prop herself upright on the desk, and brought it up to the side of his face. She was about to bring his face down to hers, but his head whipped to the side, with his ear turned towards the door.

"Shit," he muttered, pulling out of Sakura. Sakura's eyes fluttered shut at his withdrawal, and when she looked down she saw that he was still hard.

Kakashi righted her panties, and then tucked himself into his pants. Had Sakura not been in the middle of a post-orgasmic high, where her brain was no longer sending signals to her body, she may have asked him something along the lines of, "Just what the hell do you think you are doing?"

Instead, Sakura just stared at him with a confused look.

"I'll be back," he whispered, and he leaned forward to place a gentle kiss upon her brow. He spun her around so she was facing her window instead of the door, and then used a teleportation jutsu to get out of her office.

Sakura looked over her shoulder to see if Kakashi was gone, and saw her door open. Understanding finally hit her; he had heard someone coming and decided it would be best if whoever it was did not catch them in the midst of having sex.

Through the door came Naruto followed closely by Sasuke. Her teammates quickly took in her disheveled state, and Naruto immediately began to apologize.

"I am sorry, Sakura-chan. I forgot you have to change now, the new uniform and all," he said putting his hand behind his head, but making no effort to look away from his topless teammate.

"Tsch," Sasuke started. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Sakura asked, feigning confusion.

"The man that you were entertaining before the idiot barged in," Sasuke clarified pointing at Naruto.

Had Naruto not have been so interested in Sakura's response, he probably would have hit Sasuke. Instead, he settled for an affronted, "Hey," while keeping his eyes on Sakura.

Sakura, having burned off her post-orgasmic bliss and found her wits at the arrival of her teammates, let a devilish smirk cross her face.

"I don't know what you are talking about Sasuke. Why do you think I need a man to entertain myself?" Sakura teased. To emphasize her point, she placed a hand down on her desk and turned slightly to reveal the side of her bare breast. She then brought her free hand up to her lips and let her middle finger glide into her mouth. Her eyes shut at the taste of her own juices on her finger, and she couldn't help the low moan that passed through her lips.

Her implication was not missed by either Naruto or Sasuke. As a result, Naruto fainted with an eruption blood spewing from his nose, and Sasuke's jaw practically hit the floor.

Sakura opened her eyes and slowly withdrew her finger from her mouth. She quirked an eyebrow at the last Uchiha, hoping to prompt some sort of response from him.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He shook his head at her display and let a chuckle escape his parted lips. She certainly had a way with surprising him.

"I'll give you this round, Sakura," he replied as he bent down to pick up Naruto and drag him out of her office. "But you better show up to training after you are done 'entertaining' yourself."

And with no further ado, he left with Naruto in tow.

The door to her office shut, and Sakura listened as Sasuke dragged Naruto down the hall muttering as he went.

When she could no longer hear him, she turned to dismount her desk. She would have been successful had she not slid right into an awaiting Kakashi.

Her face turned to meet his, and he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Where were we?"

"I think you were in the middle of convincing me to purchase a set of curtains and a lock for my door," she teased.


	14. H Handcuffed

H – Handcuffed

The men of Team Kakashi were eating lunch at Ichiraku when Sakura arrived. Her hair was a rat's nest, her previous day's clothes were disheveled, and the bracelet to half a pair of handcuffs dangled from her delicate wrist. Without a word to her teammates, she sat down on the only open stool at the end of the stand and proceeded to bury her face in her hands. She let out a low groan, and was called to attention by Ayame placing a cup of water before her.

Sakura looked up at the chipper waitress and muttered, "One hangover special, please."

Ayame just giggled softly, and replied, "Sure thing. Looks like you had a rough night."

Sakura just stared at Ayame, and then she moved her hands about a foot apart and said in an awestruck voice, "It was just so big. I don't know how I am up and walking right now."

Ayame's eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks turned a delicate pink.

"I see," Ayame whispered, at a loss at what else to say to the pink-haired kunoichi. "Let me get started on your meal."

Sakura smiled and thanked the waitress who had already made a hasty retreat, and then propped up her chin on her hands.

"How can I still be drunk?" she asked herself aloud.

She turned her head to look down the bar and was met with the shocked looks of five men.

Naruto had a mouth full of noodles dangling from his mouth. Sasuke had frozen with his chopsticks mid-way to his mouth from his bowl, ramen messily spilled on the counter beneath his hand. Sai's mouth was open wide. Yamato's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. And lastly, Kakashi, who was sitting right beside the cherry blossom, had dropped his Icha Icha Paradise right into his full bowl of ramen; his hands held up as if he was still holding the orange-covered book.

"Hey," she said with a nod of acknowledgment. The nod was too much and she raised her handcuff clad arm to massage her temples.

Before he could stop himself, Kakashi reached out and fingered the bracelet around Sakura's wrist to confirm that it was in fact there and his perverted imagination hadn't gotten away with him.

His fingers moved over the body warmed metal, his eyes studying the cuff itself. He then wrapped his fingers around her wrist and brought the cuff closer to his eyes.

Sakura tugged her arm back, and Kakashi let it slip easily through his grasp.

He met her gaze, and asked with a mask-covered smile, "Where is its mate?"

A drunken smirk developed on Sakura's face, and she leaned into Kakashi. Kakashi instinctively leaned closer, and could clearly smell the sake on her breath.

The smirk turned into a huge grin, and she drunkenly stage-whispered, "I don't remember. It's probably in the same place as my bra and panties."

At the opposite end of the bar, Naruto spat out a mouth full of water and started to choke on what he managed to inhale.

His choking caused the still-drunk Sakura to snap into medic mode, and before anyone could blink, she was behind Naruto. Her fingers were quick to unzip his jonin vest and unbutton the top three buttons of his shirt. She gave him three sharp pats on the back, and his choking subsided.

"You need to be more careful, Naruto," Sakura admonished, pressing her body against his back as she gave him a firm hug. Her eyes, that had sharpened at the first sign of his choking, had returned to their lazy drunken state.

She brushed her lips against his ear as she whispered, "Promise me you'll be a good boy."

Bright red spread across Naruto's cheeks, and he leaned forward a bit to relieve himself of the feel of her body pressed against his back.

"Sa-Sakura-chan?" he replied, his embarrassment clear.

Sakura just giggled, and said, "You are so cute when you're embarrassed!"

And before Naruto could anticipate what Sakura was about to do, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. Her lips did not linger against his; she pulled away quite quickly and took a step back into the street, laughing all the while.

She turned to make her way back to her stool, when she bumped straight into Genma. Her eyes widened with surprise as she felt herself about to fall over from the impact, but Genma wrapped a quick arm around her waist and pulled her upright.

Her eyes met his and she shot him a huge drunken smile.

"Genma! My favorite drinking buddy! Where were you last night?" She gave him a quick pout and then brought her hands about a foot apart. Her teammates, who had turned to watch their drunken friend, were wondering whether she was planning on explaining her encounter last night, like she had to Ayame.

Sakura shook her head and slurred, "It was so big... And... And Shishou made me drink it all by myself."

A collective sigh of relief was heard from her teammates, but was ignored by Sakura and Genma.

She jerked her spread hands up and down to emphasize just how much she had to drink, and Genma caught his first glimpse of the bracelet around her wrist.

The special jonin chuckled at her new accessory and reached out with one hand to grasp her around the wrist. With his other hand, he withdrew the senbon from his mouth and proceeded to sticking it into the keyhole on the cuff. A few deft motions later, and the bracelet swung open, freeing Sakura's wrist.

Genma returned the senbon to between his lips and held out the open cuff to Sakura. Meanwhile, Sakura was looking at the cuff in Genma's hand in awe. She brought her awestruck gaze up to his face.

"You're my hero," she whispered pulling the senbon from his mouth, and she captured his lips with her own. Her hands came up to either side of his face and then wrapped around behind his neck. The cuff was forgotten by Genma and it fell to the ground with a clatter as he wrapped his armed around Sakura's waist.

Sakura pulled away from their kiss and licked her lips in contentment.

"Sakura, your ramen is ready," Ayame called from within the stall.

"Ah, food calls," she purred, pulling away from Genma and replacing his senbon. He chuckled softly as she turned away from him without a care for her hero's feelings.

"Bye, Sakura," he called, as he made his way far-far-away from her teammates' glares.

Sakura slid back onto her stool and began attacking her ramen with gusto worthy of Naruto.

From beside her, Kakashi cleared his throat. Sakura turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow, her mouth still full of noodles.

"You know, I could have unlocked that for you," Kakashi said.

Sakura finished chewing and swallowed her mouthful. She pointed her chopsticks at him and smirked.

"Could have, but didn't," she replied. And without waiting for a response, she turned back to her ramen.

Sakura finished her food, and sighed in fulfillment. She licked her lips to rid them of the remaining salty broth, and then turned to look at Kakashi who was giving her a funny look.

"What?" she asked, turning to hug Kakashi's arm. She leaned against him, pressing his arm into her cleavage and tilted her head back to look him in the eyes.

Kakashi sighed and shut his eyes, "It's nothing, Sakura."

"Oh," she replied, and pulled away from him.

Before Sakura could say anything an arm reached in between Sakura and Kakashi and placed a small paper bag on the counter. Sakura's gaze traveled up the arm until she was looking into the eyes of Morino Ibiki. And like a flash, the previous nights events returned to her. She blushed as she looked up into the eyes of ANBU's top interrogator.

"Ibiki-kun," she said, a blush and smile painted her face.

"Sakura," he replied with a nod. He glanced over at Sakura's teammates and decided that it would be best if he kept their interaction to a minimum.

"You left a few things behind," he said, nodding at the bag he had placed on the counter. "I'll see you around."

"Okay, thanks," she said as she watched him walk away.

While Sakura was watching Ibiki make his way down the street, Kakashi pulled the bag in front of himself and reached in. His fingers brushed against something soft and silky, and his brow furrowed wondering just what was in the bag. He grasped the material between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it from the bag. His eyes widened when he saw that he had pulled out a green satin thong. He quickly reached into the bag to pull out a matching green brassiere.

He turned his wide-eyed gaze to Sakura, who was still facing the direction Ibiki had left. Kakashi cleared his throat, yet again, to gain the pink-haired woman's attention.

Slowly, Sakura turned to see Kakashi holding up her undergarments, the bag Ibiki had left sitting in front of him.

"Heh, you see, it was just so big," she explained sheepishly, bringing a hand up to rub the back of her neck.


	15. M Mistress

M – Mistress

Every male ninja over the age of 16 had gathered in the large mission briefing room beneath ANBU headquarters. The air was thick with anticipation, especially from the younger ninja who had never seen the inside of the ANBU base. However, the men of Team Kakashi were sitting bored in the back of the room.

"Why are we here?" Naruto whined. "We should be training."

"For once, I agree with you," Sasuke grunted.

"The summons said something about tactical training," Sai replied, answering Naruto's original question.

Kakashi had long since taken cover behind the pages of Icha Icha, and was fully ignoring his teammates' complaints. Unfortunately, Kakashi's reading had to be put on hold when Morino Ibiki came in from the door beside Team Kakashi. Ibiki quickly made his way to the front of the room, his aura of authority silencing every ninja in his wake.

By the time he reached the low platform stage at the front of the classroom, the room had fallen silent. Ibiki mounted the platform and stood behind the solitary desk. Behind him stood a blank mobile chalkboard.

Ibiki scanned the room, and began, "Thank you for your prompt arrival. This afternoon you will be receiving a lecture from our Mistress Examiner on resistance against kunoichi tactics."

The room became alive with soft conversation, until a chunin in the front row called out, "What is a Mistress Examiner?"

All side conversation stopped in order to hear Ibiki's explanation.

"The Mistress Examiner is the top ranked kunoichi in Konoha. She has the highest success rate in seduction-related missions, and is of high rank and intelligence. Her main role is to administer the exam that determines whether ninja are capable of completing seduction missions. In addition, she oversees the teaching of kunoichi arts in Konoha. Normally her identity is revealed on a need-to-know basis; however, she has taken it upon herself to teach you all this afternoon. Feel honored."

"What is her success rate and rank?" another man called out.

"The Mistress Examiner is a member of ANBU and has a one-hundred percent success rate," Ibiki replied. "Are there any other questions? Or shall I turn you over to her?"

Before he could receive a reply, the door to the side of the stage burst open. In stormed none other than Haruno Sakura. The room exploded in voices.

Sakura wore a tight red vinyl corset with black piping and a pair of coordinating hot pants held up by an over-sized black belt. Her long shapely legs were encased in black thigh high platform boots with a metal spike heel; her hips swayed dangerously as she stalked towards center stage.

"Enough. Playtime is over," she said, her voice low and eyes narrowed. The room fell silent once again. Sakura turned to face her audience. "You may take a seat, Ibiki-kun," she purred without turning to see the man she was addressing.

Ibiki cleared his throat, and whispered, even though his voice carried through the room, "I think I am exempt."

"You will sit down, or I will make an example of you," Sakura replied, her voice light throughout the threat.

When Ibiki did not move, Sakura slowly turned to face him. She leaned forward, pressed a hand into the desk that separated the two, and drew her other hand up her neck and into her pink locks that she had piled on top of her head and fastened with several senbon. She captured her bottom lip with her teeth and looked up at Ibiki from her lowered position.

"I think I can teach you a thing or two," she said, her voice so sex-laden, several men in the front rows shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

Ibiki remained impassive to Sakura's flirtations. But Sakura was not the least bit fazed by his lack of reaction. Instead, she brought her knee up onto the desk and crawled onto it on all fours. A few of the men gave out cat calls, but they were silenced by the blunt-ends of a well-aimed handful of kunai from the back of the room.

Sakura raised herself up onto her knees, and pressed her body up against Ibiki's. She ran her tongue up his neck and around the shell of his ear.

"You will sit down, or I will start moaning. And then you will most likely have to deal with a few of my overprotective teammates," she explained calmly and softly into his ear.

The whole room saw Ibiki's eyes widen, and heard him reply, "You wouldn't."

"I would," she said even softer. "A good ninja knows her surroundings, and uses them to her advantage."

Ibiki sighed; he knew that he had lost. Sakura was the top ranked kunoichi for a reason, and she was not going to start taking no for an answer.

Knowing that she had won, Sakura planted a quick kiss on Ibiki's lips.

"Now scoot," she giggled, cutely tossing her head to the side. It was a mystery how she could so easily flip from sex goddess to innocent schoolgirl, but Ibiki was glad that her outfit let him remember just what she was capable of.

With a shake of his head, Ibiki walked around the desk to an open seat in the front row.

Sakura easily hopped off of the desk, her high heeled boots silent on the wooden floor.

"Does anyone know why I am here?" she asked the assembly, her voice stern, as she rounded the desk.

None of the men responded, and a few shot weary glances at the back of the room. When Sakura reached the front of the desk, she stopped her pacing and sat down on the edge of the desk. She slowly crossed her legs, and continued to stare down her audience.

It was clear that a response was not forthcoming, so Sakura decided to answer her own question.

"I am here because in the past month, as in 30 days, I have treated not one but six ninja that were seduced and nearly killed by enemy kunoichi. In one case, a pair of tits was enough to distract a Konoha jonin so much he didn't see a katana until it had impaled him. He was in surgery for twelve hours, he died twice on my table, he barely pulled through. Am I getting through to any of you?"

Several heads nodded.

"Good. Then let me give you your first homework assignment: get laid. I don't care who with, just do it with someone you know won't kill you. Or someone that won't get you killed," she added with a smile.

When she saw more heads nodding, she sighed in relief. Perhaps these men won't be such easy targets.

"Let's start with the first lesson in resistance to kunoichi arts. That is identifying concealed weapons. Genma, front and center."

Genma got up from his chair near the back of the room, and approached the stage. He stopped a few feet from Sakura who had pushed off of the desk.

"You beckoned, Mistress?" Genma greeted with a cocky smirk and an exaggerated bow.

Sakura gave him a seductive smirk and ran her hands down her torso.

"Identify what weapons I am wearing," she ordered.

Genma immediately pointed to her head, "The senbon in your hair."

Sakura reached up and pulled out half a dozen senbon, placing them one-by-one onto the desk. Her disheveled pink locks fell around her shoulders.

"And?" she prompted.

Genma looked her up and down.

"This is a hands-on exercise," Sakura explained, gesturing for Genma to come closer and feel around for weapons.

"Don't have to tell me twice," he replied. Genma quickly closed the distance between them and placed his hands on Sakura's waist.

Sakura gave him a smile in encouragement, and he ran his hands slowly up, letting his fingers brush against the undersides of her breasts before dragging his fingers down her stomach. Sakura's eyes slid shut, and she arched her back into Genma's touch.

He traced his way up her stomach and gave her breasts a firm squeeze.

Sakura let out a low moan, and Genma continued trailing his hands around her torso. She craddled the back of Genma's head in her hands, and then brought his mouth down to hers and kissed him deeply. Genma's hands slid around her sides to her lower back and brought her body flush against his. One of Sakura's hands left Genma's neck and trailed up her own. She arched her back, brought a leg up around Genma's waist, and tangled her hand in her pink hair.

The audience was silently gaping at the two, wondering just what the pink-haired vixen was up to. And then Sakura withdrew a long thin wire from her hair, and everyone saw that she had intentionally distracted Genma to take out a concealed weapon.

In the blink of an eye, Sakura broke the kiss, wrapped the wire around Genma's neck, and swept his feet out from under him. She rode his body down to the ground, where they landed rather roughly.

Sakura looked down at the special jonin between her thighs. An impressed smirk developed on her face when she saw that Genma had gotten a kunai in between the garrote and the delicate flesh of his neck.

"Pretty good," she commended, and released her grip in the wire. "But you still missed the garrote in the first place."

Sakura turned her attention to the class as she slid off of Genma, and got up onto her own two feet. She absentmindedly offered Genma a hand to get up, which he took. She pulled him up while she scanned the faces of her audience.

"There were two lessons there. First, be thorough in searching a kunoichi. While Genma saw the obvious senbon in my hair, he didn't think to look for anything else. As a result, a garrote escaped his attention. Second, a kunoichi will use her sexuality to distract you. If you were paying close attention, you would have noticed that I stopped Genma's search for weapons when he got close to my belt."

Sakura reached down and unfastened her over-sized belt and turned it so that the men in front of her could see that her belt had over twenty shuriken embedded into the thick leather.

"While he wouldn't have felt the weapons from the outside, had he dipped his fingers into the belt he would have discovered them."

Sakura turned to face the desk where she put down her belt beside the senbon from her hair.

"Take a seat, Genma. Who's next?" Sakura asked as she turned back around.

The men remained impassive, none of them wanted to be at the receiving end of her punishment, let alone the other members of Team Kakashi.

Knowing as much, Sakura sought out her teammates in the crowd. Her eyes landed on Kakashi first, and she was surprised to see that Icha Icha was absent from his grasp. A satisfied smile crossed her face, and his name slipped through her lips: "Kakashi."

Without hesitation, Kakashi stood from his seat in the back, and made his way to the front of the room. His usual slouch and slow gait absent. Instead, he hurried his approach to the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Shall we pick up where Genma left off," Sakura asked, licking her lips seductively, making the audience wonder whether she meant the search for concealed weapons or the kiss.

Kakashi cleared his throat and nodded stiffly. He kept his eyes on Sakura while he walked around the desk and pulled out the high metal backed desk chair. He carried the chair around the front of the desk and placed it down facing the audience about six feet in front of the desk. He gestured to the chair.

"Place your hands upon the top of the chair, and spread your legs," he ordered, his voice gruff.

Sakura flashed a devilish smile at the Copy Nin, before flipping her hair over her shoulder and slowly bending forward at the waist, her fingers ever-so-slowly curling around the metal. She looked at the man over her shoulder and bit her lip.

"Like this?" she teased, moving her weight onto one leg before moving her other leg further away from its partner. She shifted her weight back to both feet for better balance.

Kakashi gave her a curt nod, not trusting his voice to come out even. She made quite the image leaning over the desk chair, her legs spread wide, her eyes teasing him. He had to remind himself that they were in front of an audience; although, he was definitely going to ask her for a reenactment when they were alone.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kakashi withdrew a kunai from his thigh-pouch with his left hand, and saw Sakura quirk an eyebrow at him. She didn't know what he was planning on doing with the kunai, but she trusted him enough to not question his actions.

Kakashi stepped up behind her and placed his right hand onto her hip. And with a quick downward swipe of the kuani in his left hand, he cut open the laces to Sakura's corset.

The red vinyl corset hit the ground with several metal clanks, momentarily distracting the audience from the pink-haired seductress that was left in just a black strapless bra and a pair of low-cut red vinyl hot pants.

Kakashi leaned over Sakura's bent form, his rough jonin vest scraping against her smooth skin, and picked up the corset. He pulled out nearly a dozen senbon from the black piping, and from the stiff back panels where the ties were laced he withdrew a pair of six inch blades. He dropped the weapons and the corset onto the floor, and turned his attention to Sakura, who was still bent over the chair. Her eyes were watching him closely.

He placed his gloved hands on each of her shoulders and ran his palms down her shoulder blades and over her bra. He let his fingers dip into the back of her bra, and then traced his way around her sides to her front. When he reached the underwire, he withdrew his fingers, and gently cupped her breasts. He gently squeezed, and then allowed his fingers to enter the cups of her bra. He felt around the fabric, and surprisingly found no weapons. As he removed his hands, he made sure to give her erect nipples a quick pinch, much to the ignorance of the other men in the room.

He held back a groan at the feel of her body beneath his, and reluctantly stood up; his slight hesitation also went unnoticed. He backed away from Sakura.

"Take a seat," he instructed, gesturing to the chair she was leaning against.

With the acrobatic grace and balance of a skilled kunoichi, Sakura lifted herself up onto the back of the chair in an unaided handstand. She let her left leg fall forward and back leg fall back in an agonizingly slow split. After showcasing her flexibility, she brought her legs back together and with a quick flip, landed easily on the seat.

Sakura couldn't help but let a laugh tumble from her lips because of the awed expression from the men in front of her. She knew for a fact that Kakashi was probably not as impressed as they. Remembering the Copy Nin, Sakura swallowed her laughter, and let her eyes darken with a teasing passion. She lewdly spread her legs and leaned forward with a forearm pressed against each thigh. Her new position, pressed her breasts together, and gave the audience an excellent view of her cleavage.

"What's next?" she leisurely asked Kakashi as he stepped in between her legs. He walked closer, forcing her to sit up and lean back. And then he knelt down between her knees.

A sly smirk crawled across Sakura's face, and before Kakashi could make a move, Sakura hooked her knee over his shoulder and used her calf to push him into her reach as she drew her knee up to her chest.

"What are you up to?" she huskily whispered into his ear, her voice traveling through the room only due to the excellent acoustics.

Kakashi repressed the urge to shudder due to her lowered voice and proximity.

"I was going to check your boots for weapons," he stoically replied. "But since I am here, perhaps I should check your shorts."

Sakura took his calm response as an insult to her skills, and decided to up the stakes. She leaned forward and pressed his face between her breasts.

She let her hands caress her torso, moving slowly down her sides. She arched her back, and then let her fingers run down her thighs towards her knees. Her fingers disappeared into the tops of her boots, and in a flash, she withdrew two sai. She quickly kicked Kakashi away, the heel of her boot digging roughly into his jonin vest. Once Sakura was freed of his weight, she flipped over the back of the chair and took on a fighting stance.

Kakashi stood up and brushed himself off from his fall, letting his hand linger where Sakura had dug in her heel. He looked up at the pink-haired woman in front of him, and wondered whether she actually wanted to fight him. It had certainly be a long time since the two seriously faced off, and he wasn't sure a stage in front of a meeting room full of horny men should be where he fought her dressed as if she stepped straight out of the pages of Icha Icha. In fact, the only place suited for such a fight was his bedroom. It was yet another scene he would need to request a reenactment of from his pink-haired seductress.

Sakura easily read Kakashi's reluctance to fight, and decided to put him in a situation where he couldn't refuse. She lunged at him, and in a feat of extreme speed, Kakashi lost sight of her. Taking advantage of his surprise, Sakura popped up right in front of him, and easily cut off his jonin vest with three quick swipes with her sai.

Sakura quickly retreated back to the desk. But Kakashi was right on her tail. Sakura tucked the sai into either side of her hot pants to free her hands. She then grabbed the senbon on the desk that she had removed from her hair and threw them at Kakashi. Taking advantage of the time it took for him to dodge the senbon, she flipped up onto the desk in a handstand. She then quickly spun herself around using each wrist to pivot a full turn, and brought her legs down to kick out at the recovered Kakashi.

Her metalic heel caught him across the chest, tearing his shirt open, and cutting the skin underneath. His chest blossomed red from the shallow flesh wound, and Kakashi decided it would be best to retreat and regroup.

Before he pulled away he made a quick grab for the sai tucked into her shorts. With a rough tug, he managed to come away with the weapons and cut open her shorts on either side.

Sakura stopped her rotation as she saw Kakashi pull away, and landed onto the desk in a crouched position.

She quickly hopped off the desk and when she landed on the stage, her hot pants fell away, leaving her in only a strapless bra, a black lace thong and a pair of thigh high boots. The crowd was so mesmerized by the fight, they did not even appreciate her nearly naked state.

However, Kakashi was not as oblivious. He had pulled up his forehead protector, and was taking in the whole sight. Sakura's heavy breathing only adding to her allure. And then he saw her wince and brace herself against the desk.

She doubled over and began to cough. A splash of crimson blood, followed by two more hit the stage beneath her.

Kakashi immediately approached her, suddenly concerned for her well-being. He was positive that he had not injured her; or at least not enough to have her coughing up blood. He wondered whether she had been injured before she arrived at ANBU headquarters, and carried on because she wasn't planning on fighting. He silently cursed himself for riling her up.

When he was within arms reach, he called out, "Sakura, are you all right?"

Sakura looked up at him. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and blood was trickling down from the corner of her mouth. She gasped, clutched her stomach, and then bent back down to cough up more blood.

Kakashi placed the sai that he had taken from her onto the desk, and grasped her shoulders to steady her.

"Let's go to the hospital," he said softly, his voice giving away his concern.

In a display of stubborn behavior, Sakura pulled away from him, and regained her grasp on the side of the desk. She was still bent over and coughing up blood every so often.

And then, out of nowhere, she grabbed the sai that he had put down tackled him to the ground.

She rode him to ground the same way she had Genma. This time she had the pair of sai crossed over his neck. She turned her head to the side and spit out a plastic pouch that had held the fake blood she was coughing up.

"There were two lessons there," she spoke loudly, addressing the shocked men in the room. "First, never leave your weapons where a kunoichi can gain access to them. She may come unarmed to prevent alerting suspicion. Instead, she'll use your own weapons against you. And second, do not underestimate a kunoichi. She will take advantage of the male urge to take care of a weak woman. Do not let your guard down until you are sure that she is incapacitated."

She looked down at the silver-haired man beneath her and gave him a bloody smile.

"Any questions?"


	16. P PMS

P – PMS

When Kakashi showed up to Team Kakashi's regular afternoon training session his standard two hours late, he was not expecting to find the training grounds completely demolished and his male teammates scattered throughout the grounds in varying states of distress. Concerned that an enemy had broken into Konohagakure and trounced his teammates, Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and began a quick scan of the grounds for chakra.

He honed in on the only other chakra in the field, and was surprised to see a completely unharmed Sakura sitting serenely beneath a cherry blossom tree. Her back was leaning against the trunk, and she had tilted her head back as well, revealing the milky white column of her throat that practically begged for his mouth's attention.

He took two long strides towards his pink-haired bedfellow, when he was stopped in his tracks by Sasuke's rasped, "Don't!"

Kakashi turned to see the last Uchiha reaching out to him; and as tempting as the tasty kunoichi was, he could not ignore his former students plight.

He walked over to Sasuke, and bent down at his side.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked, afraid if he sounded too concerned the lone Uchiha would mistake his concern for pity and turn away from his aid.

"Sakura..." Sasuke choked. "Sakura did this."

Kakashi's eyes widened, and raised his head to take in the devastated training ground. His total shock was cut off by Sakura's explanation.

"Well, Naruto shouldn't have said I was fat. Sai shouldn't have called me 'Ugly.' And you, Uchiha, shouldn't have insinuated that I was weak," Sakura explained with an unusual absence of emotion.

Kakashi could barely tear his gaze away from the training grounds to look at the emotionless Sakura. But when he did, he saw that she was looking directly back at him.

"And Yamato?" Kakashi asked, afraid of what he might say.

He was surprised when Sakura choked back a giggle. "I haven't even laid a finger on him today. He is playing possum."

Kakashi looked over at the brown-haired man, and sure enough Yamato's clothing was clean, his skin was unblemished, and he was keeping both eyes trained on Sakura.

Kakashi forced back a snort, and looked down at Sasuke.

"She's not weak, right?" Kakashi coaxed.

"Obviously," Sasuke spat. "We fought her at the same time, and she still brought us down."

"Hey, Naruto," Kakashi called across the field to the orange-clad ninja. "She's not fat, right?"

"Well, she is a little bloated," Naruto replied under his breath, only to find himself being straddled by the pink-haired woman in question with her fingers finding purchase around his neck.

Kakashi was immediately there, and his face appeared slightly amused at the sight of a purpling Naruto.

"I don't think he can breathe, Sakura," he said in a calm voice.

"That is the point, sensei," she replied through gritted teeth, her eyes never leaving Naruto's. "I am not fat."

Naruto shook his head side-to-side and choked out, "You're not."

Sakura released her hold on his neck, and said with a slight smile, "I am glad we agree."

She got up and looked at Kakashi. She trailed her hands up his chest as her eyes met his.

"You don't think I am ugly, right?" she asked, her voice soft and her eyes sincerely looking for an answer.

"You're not ugly, Sakura," Kakashi replied placing his hand on his shoulder.

She sniffled and turned away from Kakashi, stepping out of his reach.

"Sakura?" he asked. "Where you going?"

"Hm? I think I want some chocolate. Chocolate would be good," she replied without turning back. "Maybe I need to get laid..." she added under her breath.

She turned to look at Kakashi over her shoulder, and asked, "Can you take over here? Sai should probably see a doctor, internal bleeding and all. Calling me ugly," she grumbled.

"It sounds like you need my help more," Kakashi replied, wrapping an arm around Sakura's shoulder and leading her out of the training grounds. "Did you know that the new restaurant in town serves chocolate soufflé?"


	17. F Frustrations

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter is rated M for sexual content. Please do not read if you are offended by excessive fan service.

F – Frustrations

"I bet you can't go a week without it," Tsunade off-handedly challenged her pink-haired apprentice.

Sakura's eyes widened and her face flushed in rising anger at her mentor's low opinion on her self-control.

"I could too!" Sakura shouted back, stamping her foot childishly.

"Would you like to place a wager on that?" Tsunade asked, her voice calm and nerves steady. The blond Hokage folded her hands in front of her on her desk and she narrowed her eyes as she mentally processed just what she wanted to get out of this bet.

"Damn right, I would!" Sakura replied, rising to the challenge.

"Okay then, if I win, you have to travel to Kirigakure to fetch a case of my favorite sake. And you have to foot the bill, including your travel expenses."

Sakura shut her eyes and calculated just what a trip like that would cost, not that she was planning on losing. When she decided that she had enough money saved up to back up her end, as it was only honorable to do so, she nodded in acceptance.

"And if I win, I want you to allow me to date," Sakura said levelly.

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise. That was all her apprentice wanted? Why was it she couldn't date in the first place? Oh yes, Konoha Law 294 Section 3 Paragraph 6 stated that the Mistress Examiner was not allowed to date in order to avoid any conflicts of interest.

"You know I cannot go against Konoha Law," Tsunade explained.

"Do you think you'll lose?" Sakura baited.

Tsunade huffed and took the bait. "You're on! But no self-gratification either."

"Done. This time next week, I'll be back for my written permission to date."

A devilish smirk spread across Sakura's face, and she turned to hide it. She quickly left the office before Tsunade could reconsider their wager. What was a week without sex? It's not like she hadn't gone a week without it before. And it's not likely that Tsunade would suddenly break her losing streak on this bet, right?

* * *

Sakura's first day of abstinence was quite easy, seeing as she left Hokage tower and headed straight for the hospital where she was scheduled for a graveyard shift. The hospital was quiet, and Sakura saw very few patients outside of her general rounds. While the hospital slept, Sakura completed several stacks of overdue paperwork. And then the sun rose, and Sakura found herself heading home directly at the end of her shift for once.

Sakura arrived home, slipped into a sheer, black chemise and slid beneath her covers. Sleep came to her easily, and she found herself dreaming of champagne and candle lit dinners.

Unfortunately, Sakura did not get to sleep as long as she wanted. Her mattress slumped slightly to the side, and Sakura cracked open an eye to see who had sat down beside her sleeping form. She was surprised to see Sai sitting on the edge of her bed staring intently at her through long, inky lashes.

Sakura raised an eyebrow in question, and croaked, "Why are you here?"

"I can see through your shirt," Sai replied nonchalantly.

Sakura sat up, her covers already pooled around her waist, and tried to rub the sleep and frustration out of her eyes with the heels of her palms.

"Sai, why are you here?" she asked, sounding a little more breathy than she had expected.

"You didn't show up for this afternoon's practice, so I was asked to retrieve you. And I can still see through your shirt."

"Yes, you've pointed that out already. And I don't particularly care whether you can see through my nightclothes." Sakura slid out of bed, and revealed to Sai that she was in fact not wearing any underwear beneath this particular selection of nightwear.

Sai stared at her unabashedly, and Sakura was much too tired to wallop him one for it. Instead, she made her way over to her dresser and pulled out her training uniform and a matching bra and panties set. She laid each of the items on top of her dresser, and then casually lifted her chemise over her head.

Sakura heard the sharp intake of air from the man behind her, and couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was not like Sai had never seen her naked before, and there was nothing intentionally seductive about her getting dressed for the day.

She bent forward to slide on her panties, and as she was putting her second foot into the leg hole, she felt a gentle caress on her lower back. Slowly, Sakura turned her head to look over her shoulder at the quiet artist, and saw that he was mesmerized by the small of her back. The look on his face was of sheer awe, and Sakura had a hard time getting angry at someone that was holding her in such reverence.

Shaking her head in defeat, Sakura realized that she was really losing her firm touch. She slid her panties up her long legs and brought her torso up with them. Sai's hand still lingered on the small of her back.

"You okay?" she asked, picking up her bra.

Sakura threaded her arms through the straps and then looked over her shoulder at her dark-haired teammate as she fit the hooks into the eyes on the clasp in the back. His gaze had tracked up her back to the gentle slopes of her shoulders, but still he said nothing.

Sakura shook her head again. What had gotten into this man? She was much too tired to answer a not-so-simple question, so she chose to ignore it. As she adjusted her breasts in her cups, she watched as Sai's eyes traveled down from her shoulders to her ample bosom. Now that made sense to her, and she couldn't resist the satisfied smirk that grew upon her face.

She turned to pick up her top, but was stopped by Sai, his fingers gently grasping her chin so she couldn't look away. Sakura's eyes met his, and she could see something in his gaze. But she didn't know just what it was.

"I would like you to help me," he said simply.

"Help you with what," she asked, her voice soft, afraid to break this strange moment before she had figured it out.

Sai ran the back of his hand down her bare side, and said softly, "Everything."

Sakura's eyes widened, finally realizing that Sai was, believe it or not, coming on to her. Her lips parted to answer his request, to deny his request, but her reply was silenced when Sai's lips pressed against her own.

His kiss was gentle but thorough, his tongue explored every corner of her mouth and his eyes never left hers. But Sakura realized that this kiss needed to stop. She placed a hand against his shoulder and stepped away from his kiss.

"Sai," she said, her eyes soft. "I can't. At least, not right now."

She wanted to win that bet, but she wanted to help her friend as well. Help him make sense of whatever he was feeling, wanting or needing. But she couldn't fully commit to helping Sai if she had to stop herself halfway, which was why they needed to stop whatever was about to happen.

Sakura gently cupped Sai's cheek. "If you need me, ask me next week, and I will do my best to help you. Or I'll find someone else to help you if need be."

"But there is only you, Ugly," he implored, his nickname sounding strangely endearing for once, despite its meaning.

Sakura swallowed. "Please, just one week?"

Sai looked at her and nodded. He turned to her dresser and handed her the red top sleeveless top that she had selected.

A smile blossomed on Sakura's face as relief spread through her body. Sakura finished getting dressed quickly, and turned to face Sai.

"You ready?" she asked, a minuscule smile teased at the corners of her mouth.

Sai nodded and led her out of her apartment and towards the training grounds.

* * *

When they arrived at the training grounds, Sakura and Sai were surprised to find Naruto and Sasuke in a rather compromising position. Sasuke was facedown against the grass writhing beneath a heavily sweating Naruto, shouting for the brash blond to get off of him.

Sakura immediately pictured the two nude in the same position, with Sasuke shouts of resistance replaced by moans of appreciation. The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't deny the tingle she felt between her legs and the coil of arousal that formed in her stomach upon imagining her teammates in an admittedly unlikely sexual relationship. As unlikely as it was, it was certainly a fantasy she would have to recall in the privacy of her own bedroom after the week was up. But until then, she would have to stop the real-life inspiration before it got her in trouble.

"Funny, I always thought Sasuke would be a top," Sakura muttered out loud. She sent a devious smile at Sai, knowing that he was always willing and able to help her rile up the two, be it intentionally or not.

"Perhaps they take turns?" he offered. "I read that such a thing is rare, but still possible."

Sakura nodded, and glanced out of the corner of her eye at the wrestling pair. Their conversation had halted much of the wriggling and forced the wrestling men to look at the two in confusion.

"Now that I think about it, I guess I can see Naruto being the dominant one in their relationship. Animal instincts taking over and all," Sakura said, swiping her hand out in a clawing motion.

Kakashi and Yamato, who were on the opposite side of the training field, tried their best to disguise their amusement at Sakura's brash comment. Yamato had turned his head to hide his cheek-straining smile from view, and Kakashi converted his bark of laughter into a cough directed into his fist.

Sakura could see the wheels still turning in Naruto's head. But it was clear that Sasuke had already figured out her insinuations due to the wide-eyed look of shock he was sporting. As the shock wore off, he realized that Naruto was still pinning him to the ground.

"Get off me already," Sasuke shouted, shoving the distracted blond onto the ground beside him. Before Naruto could re-mount him, Sasuke quickly got up and began brushing the dirt off of himself, as if it would brush away the insinuations.

Sakura, rarely seeing Sasuke's feathers so ruffled couldn't help but slowly approach him, her face painted with unadulterated mischief. With one foot planted deliberately in front of the other and an extra dash of sway in her hips, she had every man on the field looking at her. And they were all wishing she was approaching them. But unfortunately for them, she only had eyes for Sasuke at the moment.

"Sasuke, you're all dirty. Let me help you," she purred, her hands quickly helping Sasuke brush off the dirt on his torso, letting her fingers linger on his twitching abdominal muscles.

She rounded him slowly, her fingers slowly trailing along his clothes, and Sasuke became suddenly quite wide-eyed and pink. Green chakra flowed from Sakura's hands, visibly hopping from one tenketsu to the next on Sasuke's chest. Pink lips ghosted against his ear as Sakura began whispering various techniques that could help Sasuke please his male partners.

Sasuke couldn't hide the havoc that the pink-haired vixen was wreaking upon his body: his chest rose and fell quickly with excited breaths, his length strained against the tight fabric of his pants, his eyes were shut tight, and a small trail of blood trickled down his chin.

And then, Sakura pulled away, drawing her chakra away with her.

"Let me know if that works out for you," she teased, turning towards Yamato and Kakashi. "So what're we working on tod-"

Sakura was cut off by the raven-haired man tugging on her wrist and roughly turning her back into his body. His arousal pressed into her stomach and the scent of his sweat flooded her senses. But Sakura, being well-versed in the adverse effects of playing a tease, was able to easily maintain a bored expression.

"Yes?" she asked, her tone completely neutral, despite the fact that she was being handled quite roughly. And then a small smirk crawled onto her face, and she couldn't resist purring, "Anything I can do for you?"

The last Uchiha could only stare at the seductress pressed against him in disbelief. He could not figure out just how she was able to destabilize him with a sexy smile and a heavy-lidded gaze.

"One of these days, your little games are going to catch up with you," he warned. "Not everyone is as tolerant as me."

Sakura tossed her short hair over her shoulder in a combination of defiance and seduction and replied, "Who says I don't want to be caught? Although, preferably not by you..."

She flicked her eyes up and down his body in a quick examination, and then, suddenly, she disappeared from his grasp in a puff of smoke. When he looked up, he saw that she was a dozen feet away speaking nonchalantly with Kakashi, Yamato, Sai and Naruto. How had he ended up with a shadow clone and not even realized it?

Before Team Kakashi could begin their training, a group of four ANBU appeared on the field. They zeroed in on Sakura, and notified her that her presence was required immediately at the hospital. Sakura took a deep breath to center herself, and, after sparing a quick parting wave to her teammates, she transported herself to the hospital.

* * *

Twenty-seven hours later, Sakura dragged herself through her front door. The sinking sun set fire to her living room, and in her state of exhaustion the medic didn't bother to turn on any lights. Long dexterous fingers made quick work of the clasps that held her knee-high boots shut. And tired hands withdrew her feet and legs from their confines. As she stood, she steadied herself on the wall beside her and took several calming breaths.

"I will not vomit. I will not vomit," she chanted softly to herself, cursing the side effects of chakra exhaustion. The room stopped spinning, and Sakura decided her sofa would be her best bet for collapsing upon. There was very little chance she would be able to make it all the way through her apartment to her bedroom.

One unsteady bare foot after the next led her towards her sofa. As she walked, she tugged down the zipper of her red top and let it fall down her shoulders onto her living room floor. Her fingers fumbled with the button and zipper on the back of her skirt, but eventually the skirt fluttered to the floor as well. She tried to unhook her brassiere, but found her muscles unwilling to clench and uncoil enough for her arms to make it around her torso.

"Screw it," she muttered, stumbling the last few steps to the sofa. Her body collapsed onto the sofa, and Sakura was surprised to find her head pillowed on something warm and firm.

The exhausted medic cracked an eye open as she turned her head upwards to see just who's lap she had landed in, and was relieved to see a shock of silver hair. A tired smile crept onto her face, and she managed to mutter, "Kashi."

He chuckled softly, and the simple familiar sound sent shivers down her body and made her skin break out in goosebumps.

His fingers trailed through her sweat dampened locks, and he couldn't resist letting her know, "You stink."

His off-handed comment was met with a rather unladylike snort, and an unintelligible, "Bath... kill for... too tired... drown."

"It's all right," he hushed, his fingers tracing patternless shapes on her bare side. "Rest awhile, and then I will help you shower."

Sakura snuggled into his leg and reassured him before drifting off to sleep, "Our Green Beast... okay... up and challenging... soon."

When Kakashi was certain that she was asleep, he let a sigh of relief escape his mask-covered lips. His beautiful teammate had exhausted herself saving his best friend, not that he would ever admit that fact to Gai's face. But he knew that she knew, and she had wore herself down to nothing to ensure the safety of Gai's life. He felt his heart clench and couldn't express just how that made him feel. He knew that deep down he was terrified that he would lose everyone that was important to him, and he knew that somehow Sakura had become very important to him.

He settled his heart by watching her sleep by the light of the setting sun, and continued to hold her even as the shadows of night sunk into her living room.

* * *

Sakura awoke, chased into consciousness by dreams of blood and loss. She took two calming breaths and breathed in the comforting scent of her former teacher. Her lips curled, glad that he hadn't left in the midst of her slumber. The still-exhausted medic sat up and her emerald eyes met his mismatched orbs.

"You still stink," he teased, breaking their silent connection.

Sakura let out a low groan, but resisted the urge to throw a girly punch. Instead, she stood up and wobbled a few feet in the direction of her bathroom. When the Copy Nin made no move to follow her, she turned and with a raised eyebrow said, "I thought you were going to help me shower."

Kakashi smiled, glad that she had remembered. He stood and started removing his clothes, neatly folding them and stacking them on her coffee table. When he was nude, he made his way to a swaying Sakura. His arms slid around her waist, and quickly removed her bra and panties. Before she could argue, he hooked an arm beneath her knees and quickly picked her up. Sakura was pleased that she was able to keep in her surprised yelp, but couldn't resist the desire to wrap her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his neck and took comfort in his scent.

Kakashi opened the taps on her shower and adjusted the temperature to his liking.

"Too hot?" he asked, moving her hand beneath the water's spray.

"Perfect," she hummed against his neck.

Kakashi carried her into her bath tub and closed the shower door. He slowly set her feet onto the floor such that she was facing him and he made sure her hand took hold of the safety rail he had installed in her shower just for situations like this. When he was sure that she could hold her own weight, he grabbed a wash cloth and began to lather it with soap.

He ran the cloth down her arm, over her palms, and washed each finger individually, being sure to remove the blood that had accumulated beneath her nails. He repeated the process with her other arm, and then ran the rough, soapy cloth over her shoulders, and neck. The cloth slowed tortuously over her rounded breasts, enough such that the rough caress caused her nipples to harden in arousal. Sakura was pleased that she was able to keep in a needy wimper, because she was much too exhausted to encourage her silver-haired lover.

Kakashi washed her lean stomach and sides, and then got onto his knees to wash her legs. He cleaned every inch from her ankles to the apex of her thighs. And then he carefully lifted each foot to wash the bottoms and tops of her feet, as well as between her pink-pedicured toes.

He turned Sakura and led her beneath the water to rinse away the soap suds. Frothy water circled the drain, and he took advantage of the time it took to rinse her front to generate a generous lather between his palms.

As the hot water beat down on the exhausted medic, the Copy Nin began massaging her shoulders and down her back, using the soap to smooth his ministrations. Sakura pressed her forehead against the cold shower wall in front of her and let out a low moan of satisfaction.

When her knees began to shake from the strain of standing, Kakashi turned her to wash off her back. His skilled hands tilted her head back to wet her short locks, and the new position left Sakura gazing up at Kakashi's face. His eyes were focused on wetting her hair, and Sakura was thankful for an opportunity to just stare at his bare face. She found herself memorizing his features, even though she had seen them so many times before. It was truly a rare event, however, to look at his face when he wasn't returning the gaze and analyzing her reactions.

She smiled softly at the new discovery of a small scare just beneath his chin. But her observations were cut short when she was spun around so Kakashi could shampoo her hair.

His fingers rubbing against her scalp were just as soothing as his hands upon her back. She had already shut her eyes to keep out the soap, but the sensation was enough to keep them shut all in itself. Too soon did he judge her hair clean enough, before he moved her a few baby steps forward to wash out the shampoo.

"Close your eyes," he instructed softly, before the suds began to stream down her face. When the water ran clear, his fingers untangled themselves from her pink locks.

"Will you stay?" she asked, her soft voice echoed off the tiled shower.

"Of course," Kakashi replied, pressing his lips to the back of her neck in a silent kiss. Following his lips precedent, he pressed his front against her back so he could reach around her small frame to turn off the shower. "That's what friends are for."

At the word 'friends,' Sakura felt something in her tighten painfully. And she realized that Kakashi only considered himself her friend. Perhaps what hurt was her hope of something more dying.

The silence felt awkward, and Sakura, for the first time, felt naked. She let out a noncommittal noise, that Kakashi took as agreement to his statement.

Without further ado, he lifted her out of the tub and set her down on her fluffy bath mat. Before she could move, a large towel came around her and the Copy Nin began to slowly dry her off. Once she was dry, he used the same towel to dry himself.

And then he lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom. He spared a glance at her nightstand and briefly considered helping her into a nightgown, but decided that he would rather be pressed against her skin-to-skin. Besides, if he dressed her, he would have to dress himself and his boxers were all the way in the other room.

So he balanced her weight in one arm, while his other drew back her covers to reveal her crimson silk sheets. He placed her freshly washed body down and quickly slid in beside her. His arms wrapped around her and brought her flush against his body before reaching down and tucking them in. In a jumble of arms and legs, the two feel into a deep sleep, where Sakura dreamed of what could have been. And Kakashi's dreams were empty, because he was holding them tightly within his arms.

* * *

Gentle strokes up-and-down Sakura's back brought her out of a nightmare. Her eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring at a familiar battle-scarred chest. She fought down a blush, embarrassed to have woken up from two nightmares in a row in Kakashi's embrace, before she looked up at him.

His gaze was as gentle as his hands which continued to rub her reassuringly upon her back.

"Bad dream?" he asked.

"I can't remember," she replied before tucking her head beneath his chin and taking comfort in his body warmth. She slid her hips closer to him, and her eyes widened in sensation when she realized that his thigh was wedged between her legs and pressed against her bare womanhood. While she was able to keep from making any noise, her body gave away her enjoyment of that slight amount of friction by the arch in her back and the catch of her breath.

"Too good for pajamas?" she asked, hoping to divert his attention from her slight arousal.

Unfortunately, his low masculine chuckle in response to her question only heightened her arousal. And the gruff, "Overrated," nearly sent her careening on a path towards failure.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself; she would not lose this bet. She would not jump the devastatingly handsome man whom she had slept with and in the midst of her slumber thrown her leg over his narrow hips. She would ignore his thigh which was pressed tightly to the apex of hers, the feel of his bare skin against her breasts, and his morning arousal that pressed against her abdomen. And she would pretend that she couldn't feel his gaze burning a hole in the top of her head.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was quite perplexed by Sakura's behavior. Their relationship, when they were alone, usually went the route of flirtatious banter followed by mind-blowing sex. But this morning she was acting quite out-of-character. Perhaps she was still suffering the after-effects of chakra exhaustion? His hands stilled in concern.

"Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yes, fine. Um, thanks." Sakura tilted her head back to shoot him a reassuring smile, but froze halfway when her cheek brushed against his day-old stubble. She felt her body tingle at the sensation. She was always a sucker for rough texture drawn against her sensitive skin.

"Shit," she muttered, untangling herself from their jumble of limbs and sitting up.

Kakashi followed the pink-haired woman, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. He could not understand what was going through her head at the moment.

She chanced a glance at him, and the Copy Nin was surprised to see a deer-caught-in-headlights expression on her face.

"Sakura, just what is going on?"

"I, um," she started, wondering whether she should explain the bet to Kakashi. Perhaps that would make it easier on her. She bowed her head in resignation.

"I made a bet with Shishou," she admitted, and she started to wring her hands together. She was conflicted about how much she should reveal, and decided to gauge that on how much he chose to probe.

"I see," he said, wondering just what that had to do with their situation. "What sort of bet?"

"I can't have sex or masturbate for a week," she replied, still not looking at him.

"Okay," he replied slowly, drawing out each syllable to voice his confusion.

Sakura growled in frustration, and roughly scratched her scalp to work out some of her tension. She turned her head to look at the Copy Nin, her fingers still fisted in her hair. He easily returned her gaze, which only led to angering her more.

"Dammit, do you have any idea what you do to me?"

With her confession, Kakashi could not keep his smug grin at bay. And Sakura let out another growl, even his cocky expression was enough to turn her on. Just what had happened to her self-control? She was the Mistress Examiner, if anything her resistance should be the best. Was it just the fact that she couldn't have sex that made her hyper-aware of everything?

Kakashi cut off her musings by cupping her cheek. He whispered, "What do you have to do if you lose the bet?"

Sakura sighed at the thought of losing, and replied, "I have to go to Kirigakure and buy her a case of her favorite sake. Do you know how expensive per bottle that is? And I have to buy a whole case!"

He chuckled at her outburst, and brought his lips down to hers. Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Did he not hear what she just said?

When she didn't respond to his kiss, he pulled back just enough to say, "I'll pay you back."

Before his lips could return to hers, he found himself being shoved off of the bed. Even with his fast reflexes, he couldn't do anything but hit the ground.

"Get out," he heard her shout. He looked up and saw Sakura kneeling on the bed, completely naked, with her arm outstretched and pointing at the door. She made a stunning picture with the early morning sun silhouetting her form through her sheer bedroom curtains, her face drawn into a scowl. "Now."

With a sigh, he hefted himself off of the floor. Even without his Sharingan, he should have seen that coming. He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to leave her bedroom.

"Will you be coming to practice this morning?" he asked over his shoulder.

Sakura took a moment to check her chakra, and was suddenly reminded of her exhaustion. She laid back down and muttered, "Probably not, too tired."

Kakashi chuckled at how quickly her anger faded, and realized that she must have been extremely tired to let it slide away that easily. He glanced back at her and found her laying down at the foot of the bed. He waited a few moments for her breathing to even out, and then moved her up to her pillow and tucked her in.

With a chaste kiss on her forehead, he made his way into her living room to get dressed. Once his clothes were on, he did a quick series of hand seals to take himself to the training grounds.

* * *

Sakura awoke once again to the feeling of her bed dip down beneath someone's weight.

"This better not become a habit, Sai," Sakura muttered without turning to see the raven-haired man on her bed.

"Does Sai wake you up often?" Sasuke asked, sounding surprisingly interested in her answer.

The half-asleep Sakura jolted straight up to a sitting position, her blankets settling down into her lap in a flutter, and her eyes open wide in surprise. Of all of her teammates, only Sasuke was unwilling to let himself into her apartment without her permission. In fact, a few months ago he nearly bled to death on her doorstep because she didn't hear his knocking while she was in the shower.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" she asked, immediately crawling out from her covers to perform a medical exam on him. Meanwhile, Sasuke was dumb-struck by his topless teammate who had bolted upright due to his presence. And when she began to crawl towards him on all fours, completely nude, he couldn't prevent a blush from spreading across his face and his Sharingan from unconsciously activating.

Green chakra began to flow into his body and palms pressed against his chest, knocking him back into the present. He blinked his Sharingan away, and stuttered, "I-I am okay."

"Oh," Sakura said, lifting her wide emerald eyes up to meet his obsidian orbs and deactivating her chakra. She flopped back onto her mattress, and Sasuke couldn't resist trailing his gaze down her long neck, lingering on her breasts, gliding past her flat stomach, and stopping where her legs were slightly parted.

The pink-haired woman watched as her former crush checked her out. She pretended to be oblivious, but couldn't help but part her legs as his eyes burned a path down her torso. When his gaze seemed to linger, and something akin to lust began to simmer within his eyes, Sakura deemed it best to draw his attention away.

"So what brings you by?" she asked, her voice casual and just a touch sleepy.

Sasuke shook his head and turned his face away from the temptress in front of him.

"I need you to teach me how to seduce someone."

A snort made its way out of her, releasing a fair amount of laughter after it. She sat up, leaned into him, and got right up in his face. Her breasts pressed against his side as she lined up his face with hers.

"You're not serious, are you?" Sakura's voice was incredulous, and she searched his reaction for honesty.

Sasuke could only blink at her, seemingly at a loss for words.

Sakura pulled away, realizing that he was completely serious. She hopped off the bed and began to pace. Her mind whirred at a mile a minute. How could she explain to her teammate that the women of Konoha, not to mention a fair number of men, saw him as one of the most desirable men in the village. And then she froze in front of him.

"Do you even know who you are?"

Sasuke continued to appear stumped, and Sakura realized that she had to be blunt.

"You are Uchiha-fucking-Sasuke. Whoever it is that you have in mind, she is already seduced. You just have to tell her where, when, and how you want her."

Sasuke could only gape at her. And then he began to process her words with respect to his particular situation, and came to the conclusion that she was wrong.

"But he doesn't know," he started, and then shook his head. "He'll just misinterpret everything. He's... slow."

Sakura felt her jaw drop, and was surprised that it didn't hit the ground. "He?"

Sasuke looked away and muttered something under his breath.

"Come again?"

He took a deep breath and said, "Naruto."

Inner Sakura fell over as she screamed out in orgasm. And Sakura couldn't help but tremble from arousal. But it didn't take long for suspicion to surface as she recalled his reaction to yesterday's teasing.

"Are you serious? You're not just playing me?"

Sasuke sighed and raked his fingers through his hair, still avoiding eye contact.

"If you need to know, I am bisexual. And yes, I am interested in that blond idiot. So, if you don't want to help me, you can just tell me straight out."

"No, no. I'll help you," she said defensively. "But I think the situation is pretty simple. Just kiss his brains out. Either he'll kiss you back or he'll kick your ass. That way you'll know."

Sasuke flushed and looked away yet again. "I've never kissed anyone before. I mean other than that accidental kiss at the Academy."

Sakura was shocked. How had Uchiha Sasuke made it this far into adulthood without kissing anyone? And then it hit her: if he had never been kissed, that meant he was a virgin as well. A huge grin spread across her face until she realized that she wouldn't betray his confidence. The juiciest gossip to ever hit Konoha would die with her.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked.

He looked up and said, "You're the expert. What should I do?"

"It seems like you can go one of two ways: go straight to kissing Naruto or practicing with someone else."

"Someone else," he replied immediately.

"The next question is who. I know some men who would be happy to help," she offered, crouching down in front of him and placing her hand on his knee.

Sasuke looked down at Sakura and let his fingers tangle into her hair. His other hand tipped her chin up, and he leaned down. His lips sealed against hers, and Sakura closed her eyes. She pushed back into the kiss and began to take over. Her lips guided his, and her tongue snaked its way into his mouth.

The position began to hurt Sakura's neck, so she pushed him back so she could straddle his hips. Their lips parted and came back together with renewed fervor. Her hands began to explore his torso, encouraging him to do the same with her.

When Sakura began to feel herself getting wet from the kiss, she forced herself to pull away. He certainly didn't kiss like a virgin, and then she cursed to herself when she recalled his Sharingan. She certainly wouldn't mind kissing whoever he had copied.

Her forehead rested against his shoulder while she tried to get her breathing under control. When her ragged pants had evened out, she slid off of his lap and met his stare. She swallowed and tried to reconnect the part of her brain that coordinated her speech.

"I think that will do," she replied, licking her kiss-swollen lips.

Sasuke gave her a satisfied smirk, and got up from his perch on her bed. Without another word, he turned and made his way towards her door. He raised his hand in a parting wave, and muttered, "Thanks. We should do that again sometime."

He shut the door to her bedroom just in time for her pillow to slam into the hardwood, releasing a fair amount of feathers from the impact.

"Fucking prodigies," she growled under her breath as she made her way to her dresser to get dressed for the day. She tried her best to forget today's interactions with Kakashi and Sasuke, and decided it would be best to get out of her apartment.

* * *

Sakura stalked down the main street of the market place. She was frustrated, and knew that there would be no relief for four more days. What she needed was a distraction, and, true to her position as Tsunade's apprentice, she turned in the direction of the local jonin bar.

The pink-haired medic scanned the crowd of people as she walked, greeting those she knew with smiles, nods and waves. It seemed as if she had treated just about everyone in Konohagure, at one time or another, at the hospital. And Sakura felt her spirits lifting as she returned the greetings of all of the cheerful civilians.

Her eyes landed on Shikamaru, who was leaning against the wall of Choji's favorite barbecue restaurant smoking a cigarette. Deciding that a drinking buddy would be nice, she sidled up to him.

"Hey, Shika," she said with a smile, her nimble fingers plucking the cigarette from between his lips. She surprised the protesting strategist by taking a drag from the cigarette before handing it back.

He watched as perfectly-shaped smoked rings passed through her full lips, showing a fair amount of skill and practice. And they said that Naruto was the number one ninja at surprising people. Who would have thought that Sakura had smoked before?

"Hey," he said, resuming his puffing on the once-borrowed cigarette.

"Want to join me for a drink?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his.

"Are you hitting on me?"

Sakura tilted her head back and laughed, releasing him in the process. "If I was, I assure you that you would know. I am just looking for someone to keep track of my drinks, and I think you are the only one who can count as high as needed."

"Oh?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds troublesome."

"Well, forget the counting, and just keep me company. Deal?"

The shadow nin pushed off the wall and began walking towards the bar. Sakura fell into step beside him, but allowed the comfortable silence to remain.

Shikamaru silently observed the kunoichi beside him. He had overheard an alleged second-hand telling that she had made some ridiculous wager with Tsunade, and wondered whether it was true.

They passed through the doors of the bar and he waited for Sakura to consume her first drink before he brought up the subject of the bet.

"Did you bet Tsunade that you could go a week without sex?"

Sakura began to choke on her second drink, and could only stare at the man in front of her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked, regaining her composure.

"You heard me."

"Where did you hear this?" she asked, a touch of anger seeping through.

"I may or may not have heard your team discussing it this afternoon on the training grounds."

Sakura's eyes widened as she put the pieces together. Kakashi had told her teammates about the bet, which explained Sasuke's appearance in her apartment after training. That meant that he was playing her the whole time. She heard Inner Sakura call him a fair number of profanities and couldn't help but nod and agree.

And then she began to plot her revenge. If they thought that they could work her up so much that she would lose this bet, then they were wrong. But how would she get back at them? If they wanted her to lose this bet, then she would let them think she did. She never did tell Kakashi what she would get out of winning the bet. Perhaps if they found out that they cost her the ability to date they would feel bad enough not to plot against her in the future. And what better way to break it to them than to have the Hokage do it for her?

Shikamaru felt the temperature in the room dip down a few degrees, and couldn't help but be terrified of the kunoichi sitting in front of him. He didn't want to know what she was thinking considering the vindictive smirk that had spread across her face. But he was relieved that she didn't reach out and use her inhuman strength on him for informing her about the rumor.

Her eyes met Shikamaru's, and she asked him, "Could you keep this discussion to yourself?"

Before he could respond, she sent him a menacing glare and clenched her fingers into a fist.

With a muttered troublesome, Shikamaru nodded and consoled himself with the fact that she was asking him to do nothing, his preferred way-of-life.

"Good," she purred, satisfied with his reaction. She finished her drink, and the two continued to drink in silence.

After four more rounds, Shikamaru blurted out, "Yamato and Sai aren't involved."

"That's good to know," she replied, not pursuing the conversation further.

"They actually shamed the others," he continued.

Sakura couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow at the man in front of her. "Do you become meddlesome when you get drunk?"

"Shit," he whispered, realizing just how drunk he had gotten. "I'm gonna go. Your pace is too fast for me to keep up."

The shadow nin pushed his chair out and stumbled his way towards the door.

"Bye, Shika," she called after him, finding herself once again content with life. She couldn't complain about how her afternoon had turned out, even though she found out Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were plotting against her behind her back. She would prove herself a formidable opponent and teach them a lesson in respect. And she would start tonight by making sure that Sasuke got to show off his practiced kissing skills to Naruto.

"I've never kissed anyone before," she muttered mockingly under her breath before tossing back the rest of her drink. "Bastard."

Sakura slid out of her seat to get ready for the night.

* * *

By the time Sakura arrived back at the jonin bar to kick her plan into action, all of her teammates had assembled at their usual table. She was surprised to see that Shikamaru had taken up residence in her usual seat between Kakashi and Yamato; improvising, she slid into Sai's lap and gave him a flirty smile in gratitude.

"Hey, guys," she greeted, focusing her attention on the other men at the table, notably Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. "How was this afternoon's practice?"

She noticed that they all stiffened in response to her question. Before her lips could quirk into a smirk, Inner Sakura reminded her to play it cool. So with a slow calming breath and a raised eyebrow, she pretended to be amused and confused by their strange reaction to a benign question.

"What? Were Naruto and Sasuke wrestling again?" she asked with a coy smile directed at Sasuke.

While the rest of her teammates laughed at the pairs expense, Sasuke's eyes widened and his pulse at his neck began to pound. His tongue flicked out to wet his dry lips; it was either a sign of nervousness or he was remembering their kiss, and she was leaning towards the former as she saw beads of sweat form upon his forehead.

"That's right, Sasuke, I am going to make you sweat even more than that," Sakura thought to herself.

She made sure she had Sasuke's gaze, and then she slid her eyes over to Naruto and then back._ Did you kiss him yet? _

Sasuke gave a slight shake of his head. _No._

Sakura motioned her hands at the loud blond. _What are you waiting for? He's right here._

The last Uchiha let out a sigh. _ Might as well get this over with._

"Naruto. A word?" he asked.

Naruto frantically looked at Sasuke, then Sakura, and then back at Sasuke. The blond saw there little exchange; everyone at the table watched their silent conversation. And Naruto knew exactly what Sasuke was intending to do. He silently cursed himself for coming up with this plan, and he couldn't understand why Sasuke didn't just lie about whether he had made his move or not. Perhaps it was because they weren't acting awkward around each other. He cursed himself ahead for not thinking about that.

Before he let Sasuke drag him down the back hall of the bar, his mind briefly asked why Sakura had chosen Sai's lap to sit in.

Sakura smiled big at the leftover men at her table, and then said, "I am so not missing this."

She silently made her way to the back hall which led to the rest rooms. The kunoichi peeked down the hall and saw that Naruto had leaned back against the wall at the end of the hall. And in front of him stood a rather uncomfortable Sasuke.

Sakura let a bit of her chakra slip, and Sasuke's eyes darted down the hall to his pink haired teammate. With two thumbs up, Sakura tried her best to look like she was genuinely encouraging the raven haired man.

Sasuke sighed and his head bowed in defeat. When his head raised, he committed himself to kissing his stupid, male teammate. He turned to face the Hokage-wannabe and couldn't help but mutter, "This is all your fault."

And then he pressed his lips to his best friends'. Naruto made a sound in protest, but Sasuke pinned Naruto's body against the wall with his own. His hands came up to tangle into the blond's lock, and used his hold to angle the kiss deeper. It was unclear whose lips parted first, but it did not take long for the kiss to become open-mouth and frantic.

At the opposite end of the hall, Sakura's eyes went wide, her mouth went dry, and she could feel arousal beginning to burn between her thighs. She watched at the two men parted, their eyes a little dazed, and she couldn't help but think that the minor arousal that she couldn't relieve was totally worth it. She was surprised that Inner Sakura didn't have anything to say about the situation, but then realized that her inner had passed out.

With a cat that ate the canary grin, she made her way back to the table and stole Naruto's seat. Her eyes took in his three fingers of whiskey, and figured that he didn't need it as much as she did. She knocked back the whiskey and shut her eyes to enjoy the burning wake it left behind. When her eyes opened, she saw that Sai, Yamato and Kakashi were all staring at her.

"What?" she asked. "He won't miss it."

Sakura hid a yawn behind her hand, and decided she would just head home. She already got what she came for.

"Well, I'm tired. See you all at practice tomorrow."

"I'll walk you home?" Kakashi offered.

"No thanks, I think I'll take care of myself," she teased, adding a wink for good measure and hoping her innuendo wouldn't be lost on him. "Good night."

* * *

The next day, Sakura stopped by the Yamanaka flower shop before practice. She was glad to see her best friend behind the counter putting together a small floral arrangement.

"Hey, Ino!" Sakura called out across the shop.

"Forehead!" Ino replied, wiping her wet hands on her apron. The blond's fingers made quick work of the knot at her waist, and then she pulled her apron off over her head. "I'm going out!" she called over her shoulder to the back room.

Before Sakura could mention that she only had a few minutes to spare, her friend pulled her out of the shop.

"You are not going to believe what I heard," Ino started. She stopped them in the alley behind the shop and roughly turned Sakura to face her. "Naruto... and... Sasuke... made... out... at... the... bar... last... night," she said, shaking her pink haired friend with each word.

Sakura brushed Ino's hands from her shoulders, and calmly replied, "I know. In fact, I saw."

Ino's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "I hate you," she whispered without malice.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at Ino's reaction, although she would totally feel the same way if it were the other way around. However, she couldn't help but rub in her fortune in Ino's face.

"It was hot."

Their eyes met, and they dissolved into giggles, letting their inner fangirls peek out. When the laughter subsided, Sakura swiped at the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. And then she remembered that she had come to ask her friend for a favor.

"Ino, I need you to do me a favor."

"Oh?" Ino asked.

"I need you to go down to the training grounds, and tell my teammates that I left the village to go to Kirigakure."

"What do you need to go there for?" Ino asked. "Mission?"

Sakura sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm not really leaving the village. I just need them to think that I have."

"What? Why?" Ino's face clearly displayed her confusion.

"It's a long story, but I'll explain later. Okay?"

"You're lucky you're my best friend. But you owe me one," Ino replied, turning to leave for the training grounds.

"Thanks, Ino."

Ino just waved off her thanks over her shoulder.

"And now, I wait," Sakura said with a smile.

* * *

When Sakura's week was up, Tsunade sent out a team of ANBU to summon Team Kakashi to her office. She figured that a S-class mission would squash any extended gloating from her pink haired apprentice. But then again, when she looked down at the scroll she had drawn up to allow Sakura to date, she didn't regret losing this bet.

Two hours later, Kakashi strolled into her office and took up rank beside Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Yamato.

"Where is Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto snorted, and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk when he said, "She's about two days away from Kirigakure."

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise. "She lost," she whispered, feeling her heart breaking for her apprentices' loss.

"Yeah, aren't you happy, baa-chan?" Naruto asked. "We sort of tipped that scales in your favor, so maybe we could get a bottle of sake for our troubles?"

Tsunade was dumbfounded by Naruto's callous reaction. And then it hit her. They knew about the bet. And they knew what Tsunade would win if Sakura lost. But they probably didn't know what they had actually cost her.

"Do you even know what Sakura asked for should she win?" the busty blond asked, trying to quell her growing anger.

She watched as they all shook their heads, and everyone turned their heads to look at Kakashi.

"She didn't tell me," he confirmed.

The Hokage let out a sigh. "Haven't you ever wondered why Konoha's most eligible kunoichi has never had a boyfriend?"

"She's a flirt?" Naruto offered.

"She's into casual sex?" Kakashi added.

"She's afraid of rejection?" Sasuke suggested.

"She's the Mistress Examiner," Sai corrected them all. "Are you not familiar with Konoha law? Konoha Law 294 Section 3 Paragraph 6 states that the Mistress Examiner shall not enter into a romantic relationship with any man or woman in order to avoid the development of any conflict of interests."

"Thank you, Sai. Such is the case. As a result, my apprentice requested, should she win our little bet, that I grant her permission to date."

Tsunade watched as guilt swept over the men in front of her. In fact, Naruto looked as if he was about to burst into tears. The blond Hokage couldn't deny that she gained a bit of satisfaction from their woe. She certainly wasn't going to tell them that what they had done was okay. Although, she did consider giving the scroll to her apprentice regardless of the outcome of their wager.

Before she could come to a conclusion, her apprentice hopped into the office from her open window.

"Sorry I am late. I was at the hot springs and it took ANBU forever to find me," a rather flushed Sakura explained.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto called out, as he leaped toward the panting kunoichi with his arms outstretched for a hug.

Sakura sent him a withering glare, and he stopped dead in his tracks. His arms fell to his sides, and he quickly retreated back to his spot between Sasuke and Kakashi.

"I thought you were on your way to Kirigakure," Tsunade said, confused by the sudden arrival of her apprentice.

"Why would I be going there?" the Mistress Examiner asked in a huff. "I won our bet."

Now everyone was confused and Sakura couldn't help but laugh.

"Some of my teammates were making the bet a little difficult for me, so I booked a nice room at the hot springs and took a little time off away from my them," she explained. She then added with a bit of a sadistic smirk, "Oh, and the ladies in the women's bath were very understanding of Naruto and Sasuke's new relationship, and they wanted me to pass on their support."

Naruto and Sasuke blanched in reaction.

"W-Wh-What?" Naruto asked. Only to be cut off by Tsunade's inquiry, "What new relationship?"

"They are Konoha's hottest new couple. They were practically having sex in the back hall of the jonin bar a couple of days ago," Sakura explained to her master.

"We were not!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted in unison.

"It was part of our plan to get you to lose the bet," Naruto continued. At his confession, Sasuke and Kakashi sent death glares his way.

Meanwhile, Sakura batted her eyelashes in fake shock and dismay. "Really? I had no idea? And I told everyone how that was Sasuke's first real kiss and everything. I am so sorry."

Sasuke smacked his forehead thinking that now everyone thought that he was either a virgin or Naruto had taken his virginity from him. "Wonderful," he muttered.

"Oh dear, I should probably ask Jiraiya to stop writing that Icha Icha I persuaded him to make in honor of your new relationship. I do hope his editors haven't gotten too attached to your characters," she added, her voice soft with feigned horror.

Kakashi couldn't help but look at Sakura in shock. She truly was a mastermind at revenge. Before he could ask what she had in store for him, aside from the fact that he would most definitely be skipping the next volume of Icha Icha, Naruto pointed a finger straight at him.

"It was his idea," he shouted.

Sakura turned to look at him, and gave him a devilish smirk.

"Was it?"

All of the men nodded their heads, and waited to see what punishment she would deliver. Sakura looked him up and down, and gave a shrug.

"I'll pay you back," she promised, throwing Kakashi's words right back at him.


	18. U Undercover

U – Undercover

"I'm sorry, but we only have one room," the desk clerk apologized. The clerk tried his best to not look terrified of the extremely bloody group of ninja standing before him.

"We'll take it," said a feminine voice in the back. The clerks' eyes tried to find the source of the voice, but the four ninja he could see were clearly not it.

Yamato, Kakashi, Sai and Sasuke parted to look back at their pink-haired teammate who had decided to put her foot down. And when the clerk saw the petite woman supporting the weight of a clearly unconscious blond man, he couldn't help but pale a little more.

Sakura was by far the most bloody of the group. From head-to-toe she was a gruesome mixture of reds, browns and blacks.

She closed the three yards separating her from the front desk, unconscious blond in tow, and slammed a handful of money onto the counter. The clerks eyes were riveted to the bloody cash that she had deposited on the counter, and were swept up to her now palm-up hand. He could clearly make out each of the lines in her hand where blood had accumulated and dried; he swallowed hard and tried to interpret her gesture.

On autopilot he handed her the last available room key and raised his eyes to meet hers. He was taken aback by the gentle emerald eyes that peeked out from behind a curtain of gore-soaked hair.

With a nod, she turned to head up the stairs which led up to the inn's rooms, the other men following her lead.

She stopped at the base of the stairs, and called back over her shoulder, "Could you send up some extra towels, please?"

"Sure," he croaked. "No problem."

"Thanks," she replied, tossing the blond over her shoulder in a fireman carry to get him up the stairs. To say the clerk was shocked by the sight of the petite female lifting the large man over her head as if he were weightless would be an understatement.

* * *

Sakura led the way to their room, mumbling to herself the whole way.

Her teammates gave her a large berth, and tried their best not to listen to the threats of death and castration that were tumbling unimpeded from her lips. Being familiar with her temper and ire, they knew it was best to give her room and follow whatever orders she made.

When she finally stopped in front of number 4 and compared the small number on the key to the number on the door, they all held their breath. They realized that once they stepped foot into the room with her, they would be stuck in rather close quarters and escape from her wrath would be damn-near impossible.

Sakura fitted the key into the door, and gave it a quick twist. She opened the door, leaving the key in its hole for someone with two hands to remove and stow.

Sakura paused after entering the room to take in the two double beds and the small bathroom off to the side of the entryway. With a sigh, she readjusted Naruto on her shoulder and carried him into the bathroom where she unceremoniously dropped him onto the floor, letting his head clang against the iron basin of the shower.

A disgusted scoff left her lips as she looked into the mirror in the bathroom. Without care for her teammates presence, she stepped over Naruto, got into the shower, shut the clear glass door, and started the water flowing.

Meanwhile, her conscious teammates were all staring at her in shock. Did she not realize that she was completely clothed?

As the water flowed down through her blood-caked locks, she could help but grimace in disgust. And as her disgust built up, it mutated into anger until all she could do was yell.

"I can't believe you all blew my cover," she started, not caring whether they were listening.

She slipped out of her high heeled shoes, bent down to pick them up, and then tossed the now blood-free shoes out of the shower next to Naruto. Sasuke shoved into the room and began to dry off what he now recognized as her favorite pair of red leather pumps.

"I was three days away from meeting with the head of the syndicate! Three days!"

Her fingers went to the hem of her black dress, and quickly pulled it over her head to reveal her black lace bra and panties with satin ties on the side. She ran the dress under the shower until the water ran clear and then gave it an inadequate squeeze before slinging it over the shower door. Sasuke passed the dress to Yamato, who carried it over to the sink to better wring the delicate material.

"For months, I've been trying to meet this guy! It took forever to build my cover. He's not going to let anyone new close to him now."

She roughly ran her fingers along her scalp to help get rid of what was left of the blood. Noticing that there was no complimentary soap or shampoo in the shower, she looked out the shower door to the counter-top. Sai caught her gaze, and tossed the shampoo over the door to her. He then unwrapped the soap and tossed that too.

"You almost got my contact killed. He's just a kid. Hell, you almost got me killed."

She peeled off her wet bra and panties and tossed them over the door, before starting to lather up her hair. Kakashi caught her undergarments and pulled out the hotel hair dryer to start drying them.

"Didn't you see that I was not wearing my forehead protector? Didn't you notice that I wasn't dressed in my usual ninja gear?"

The men in the room stiffened at her accusations. And she was right, it should have been glaringly obvious to them that she was on an undercover mission. It explained why she wasn't in Konoha when they were sent on their own mission; why she was in a such a seedy town, one known mostly for its black market; why she was with a group of dangerous looking men, who were all looking at her like she would taste just as good as she looked; and why she was in a simple black dress with nothing to indicate that she was a kunoichi.

"So what do you have to say for yourselves?" she asked, turning the water off. Sasuke handed her a towel, and she began to dry off in the shower.

When it was clear that none of them had anything to say, Sakura wrapped her towel around her hair and stepped out of the shower. She hopped over Naruto, and went straight up to Kakashi who was still drying her bra with the hair dryer. She plucked her already dry panties from his loose grasp and slid them on.

Kakashi silently offered her the semi-damp bra that he was drying, and she plucked the lacy material from between his fingers and slid it on as well.

"So?" she asked expectantly.

"I'm sorry we blew your cover," Kakashi muttered. "I shouldn't have mentioned to Naruto that you were in the same city as us, especially since he tends to act without thinking."

"How did you know she was there, sempai?" Yamato asked. "Did Tsunade-sama tell you before you left on our mission?"

Kakashi sent Sakura a mask-covered grin before explaining, "No, I could smell her. She has a very distinct scent."

"Yeah, I smell just like Pakkun," she replied, clearly not amused by his reason, and she turned to leave the overcrowded bathroom.

Kakashi followed her out, while the others went about cleaning up themselves. With a final glance over his shoulder to make sure they were out of sight, Kakashi pressed Sakura into the wall to stop her. His mask was quickly torn down to bare his face to her.

"That's not what I meant," he purred apologetically, rubbing his lips against her neck. "You scent drives me crazy. I'd recognize it anywhere."

Sakura tilted her head back in pleasure and tried her best not to moan.

"And you taste better than you smell," he added, trailing his tongue and placing soft open mouth kisses along her jawline, slowly approaching her parted lips.

Sakura could feel her desire brewing, and wanted nothing more than to feel his lips against hers. She wanted to taste him, just as he was tasting her.

"Please," she whimpered softly.

Kakashi was about to fulfill her request when there was a short set of raps on the door. The Copy Nin hung his head in defeat, and stepped back from Sakura just before Yamato poked out of the bathroom to answer the door.

"Stupid towels," Kakashi muttered to himself, causing Sakura to laugh softly to herself and her desire to wane to a more tolerable level.

"Some other time," she promised, and then she tossed him the towel wrapped around her hair and crawled into bed alone.


	19. D Date

A/N: A little bit for Jiraiyasgirl, you'll see. :)

D – Date

Kakashi was walking down the streets of Konoha, head buried in his orange book, when a familiar soft feminine laugh caught his attention. He lowered his book and let his gaze travel across the street to a small open-air cafe. Sitting there, across from a rather pleased looking Hyuuga Neji, was his pink-haired teammate. Sakura was practically glowing with happiness, and Kakashi could not deny that he did not like the current cause of her giddy demeanor. If anyone, the person making her happy should be himself.

Without a second thought, he hopped the waist-high wrought iron gate that separated the cafe from the street, and lazily walked over to Sakura and Neji. He noticed that Sakura refused to acknowledge his presence, and he cleared his throat to indicate that he had no intentions of leaving without speaking with her.

She still did not look up.

"Sakura," he intoned, his voice giving away his less than amiable mood. "Neji, if you will excuse us, I need to speak with your dining companion. In private."

She looked up, then, and her emerald eyes were alight with anger.

"I am in the middle of dinner," she seethed through gritted teeth, gesturing to her barely touched salad.

Kakashi did not take her not-so-subtle hint to leave. Instead, he explained, "More the reason you should come with me now, so you're main course won't be cold by the time you return."

"Kakashi," Sakura said, her anger-coated words came out rather stilted, "I am on a date."

"I can see that," he replied nonchalantly.

She sighed and raked her fingers through her soft pink locks, alleviating some of her desire to break something, preferably the Copy Nin's face.

She slowly stood, and Kakashi noticed, that she was not wearing her usual training clothes. Instead, Sakura had put on a delicate, flowing emerald green dress that matched her eyes and made her hair stand out. Her dress was not overly showy, in fact, aside from the slight hint of cleavage at the low scoop-neckline, the floaty dress did little to emphasize her lithe figure. And, in a rare state of being honest with himself, Kakashi realized that in this modest dress she looked more beautiful than had she worn something tight-fitting and short.

Suddenly the picture of innocence she created was blown to smithereens when she reached into her low-cut neckline and withdrew several bills. She placed the money on the table, and her intentions became clear to Neji.

"Sakura, you don't need to pay. I invited you to dinner, it is only fair that I treat you," Neji explained.

Sakura smiled softly at him.

"You shouldn't have to pay for food that I will not be eating, especially if you don't get to enjoy my company while you dine."

She looked down at the table, and concentrated on the salt shaker in an effort to keep her emotions under control.

When she looked up, her eyes were glassy and clearly clouded with pain and confusion.

"I'll see you around, Neji," she whispered and turned from the table. She approached the hostess at the door and apologized for the disruption she and Kakashi had caused, and then she left the restaurant. Not once did she turn her attention to Kakashi.

Meanwhile a rather dumb-struck Kakashi stood beside the table his pink-haired companion had fled, his mouth slightly agape at her behavior. He could not understand how strangely calm she was; he thought for sure she was about to unleash her famous temper in a display of inhuman strength aimed squarely at his face.

Her departure from the restaurant, however, snapped the Copy Nin out of his trance. He went to pursue her, but found his wrist being held by Neji. Kakashi turned his attention to the brown-haired man, who had just been reassigned from fellow ninja to competition in his mind, and directed a glare that promised an excruciatingly painful death.

"Do you even know where she is going?" Neji asked, letting some of his amusement soak through his current ire at how his date had abruptly ended.

"Back to her apartment?" Kakashi replied, the uncertainty clear in his tone.

His reply was met with a short bark of laughter, and then Neji's eyes caught sight of something over Kakashi's shoulder.

"Naruto," Neji called, his low voice easily carried across the street to the loud-mouth ninja.

Naruto turned to see his former genin teacher talking with Neji at a cafe. He didn't take the time to analyze the situation. Instead, he immediately hopped over the gate to the cafe and walked straight up to his two friends, despite the groans of the other cafe patrons.

"Neji, Kakashi," Naruto loudly greeted, as usual.

Neji didn't bother with pleasantries. Instead he asked Naruto, "If Sakura were upset, where would she go?"

"Oh that's easy. The usual bar, corner stool at the far end of the bar. Sakura always says, 'Closest to the booze, furthest from the traffic,'" Naruto gave a large confident grin at the end of his reply. "Give me another! This is fun!"

"This isn't a game, Naruto," Neji replied, slightly exasperated. "I was just trying to demonstrate to Kakashi that he doesn't know Sakura's quirks particularly well."

"Eh? Why would you want to do that?" Naruto asked, ignoring the shushes from the diners around him.

"That is a good question. Why would I want to do that?" Neji replied mysteriously, with a smirk at the Copy Nin.

Suddenly, Kakashi wasn't feeling so confident about his decision to disrupt Sakura's date.

* * *

An hour later, Kakashi found himself staring at the door to the usual jonin bar trying to decided whether he should go in. His decision was made for him by the arrival of Genma.

"Kakashi," Genma shouted, throwing an arm around his friends shoulder. "Let's get you a drink. Something strong. On me. I have the most amazing news to tell you. Here's a teaser: twins. Identical twins. Identical twins that were asking about you."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Me? Tell me more."

The newly excited Copy Nin started to lead Genma into the bar, forgetting his prior reservations about entering the bar.

"Oh yes, they are quite taken with you. And they thought that I would need a proper demonstration to put in a good word for them." Genma continued, as he took a stool at the bar. Kakashi sat down beside him.

"What sort of demonstration?" Kakashi asked, suddenly sounding less enthusiastic about the situation, his lip curling in disgust. "I am not sure twins is enough to get rid of the ick-factor of your sloppy seconds."

Genma let out a loud laugh. "No, you don't understand. The demonstration was more of a look-but-don't-touch sort of thing. I think the image of those women going at it is burned into my retinas. Man, I nearly fainted from southerly blood flow. Hell, Jiraiya would have given his left nut to be a fly on the wall for it."

Kakashi looked at Genma, his curiosity peaked. "So, you have put in the good word. How can I get in touch with them?"

A rather satisfied grin developed on Genma's face. "I told them I would garner an introduction tonight, if they show up at the bar."

"They are from Konoha? Are they ninja?" Kakashi asked, trying to think if he had ever met identical twin ninja in Konoha.

"No, they are model civilians."

"Oh," Kakashi replied, again his enthusiasm waning. "You know how I really don't like getting intimate with civilians, in particular Konoha civilians. They get weird expectations. They think that a one-night stand is the start of a beautiful relationship. Kunoichi, they get it."

Kakashi's gaze drifted down the bar, where he saw Sakura for the first time since his arrival. She was still wearing the dress she had chosen for her date, which probably meant that Neji and Naruto were right in that she had headed right over after Kakashi's disruption. She was surrounded by sake bottles, additional evidence to the fact that she had been here awhile. He let his eyes trace her delicate facial features. Her eyes were softened and her cheeks were painted a light pink by the amount of sake she had consumed. Her full lips were pouted, and her chin was resting on one hand. She appeared to be thinking too hard about something, as demonstrated by the slight crinkle of her brow right at the top of her nose. Looking at her, Kakashi felt a little guilt-stricken.

Genma, noticing his friends distraction, tracked Kakashi's baleful look down the bar.

"Are you sure you get it?" Genma asked.

"What?" Kakashi asked, his voice sounding far away, as he fought to draw his attention away from the woman at the end of the bar.

Genma sighed. "What a waste..."

"What is?" Kakashi asked, snapping his attention back to the brown-haired man beside him.

"You're clearly not into the twin-thing. Just go talk to her," the special jonin said as he gestured towards the end of the bar with a weak wave at the wrist. And then a rather satisfied grin spread across the senbon-suckers face. "I'll just have to console those twins myself. The pains of being your friend, Kakashi."

Kakashi let out a gruff laugh, and stood up from his stool. Genma could sense his friend's hesitation, but said no more since he wanted the decision to ultimately be Kakashi's.

Before Genma could get too fed up with his friend, Kakashi took off towards the far end of the bar. With a sharp look at the ninja sitting beside Sakura, he found the stool easily vacated.

Kakashi slid sideways onto the seat, such that he was turned to face Sakura. He silently gestured to the bartender to bring another round of sake, and then placed enough money on the counter to cover all of Sakura's drinks.

"He never charges me," Sakura muttered, acknowledging Kakashi's gesture.

Kakashi looked at her, and saw that she was staring down at the bills he had left on the counter. But that wasn't what he wanted her to look at. He wanted her to look up and see that he was sorry. He wanted her to look up at him and see that he was in too deep. He wanted her to look up and see that he doesn't want to be casual anymore. He wanted her to look up and just see him.

And then, he finally realized that he was in love with her, truly, madly and deeply in love with her. And only she would complete him. No twins, no matter how amazing; no one-night stands, no matter how satisfying; no orange covered books, no matter how addictive, would make him whole. All of the things that he normally indulged himself in were nothing in comparison to Sakura. He wanted her to be his one indulgence, although, perhaps they could share their passion for Jiraiya's works. He wasn't sure when this happened, but he could not deny that these urges were true.

"I love you," he whispered. His sincere confession was enough to get Sakura's attention.

Her wide eyes met his, and she opened her mouth to say something, anything, but found that there were no words. Kakashi tried to read her face, but shock was the overriding emotion present in her face.

Finally, she was able to form words, but all that came out was an eloquent, "Huh?"

Kakashi left his money on the bar and place his hand on her forearm.

He leaned forward, into Sakura, and whispered softly into her ear, "Come with me someplace more private? Please."

All Sakura could do was nod. She stood up, surprisingly stable on her feet considering the amount she had to drink in the past hour. Kakashi's fingers lingered on her arm, and Sakura made no move to shake him off.

"Take me," she instructed softly. Kakashi felt some of the heavy burden of emotion lift from his shoulders and couldn't help but smile.

He let his fingers caress her arm as he slid his hand down to hers. He intertwined their fingers and slowly led Sakura from the bar.


	20. V Virginity

V – Virginity

"How did you lose your virginity?" Naruto drunkenly blurted out across Team Kakashi's usual table at the jonin bar.

The table fell silent, and all eyes turned to Sai in anticipation of his answer.

"Well, Dickless, if you must know, I put my penis in a woman's vagina," Sai replied, nodding to indicate that he was thoroughly satisfied with his answer.

His teammates remained silent until Sakura broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Penis," she said between laughs, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

The tables' attention shifted to their intoxicated medic, and they simultaneously realized that she might just be drunk enough to answer Naruto's question herself. Ever since they had found out that she wasn't a virgin, and hadn't been for a long time, they couldn't help but wonder just how, when and, most importantly, with whom she had lost her virginity. They especially wondered how they hadn't realized when it had occurred.

"Sakura-chan, what about you?" Naruto asked, pressing his luck.

Her head turned slowly to bring her eyes up and over to meet Naruto's, and the other men at the table all forced themselves not to shift back away from the table. The didn't want to attract her attention, especially if she was about to kick some ass.

"What about me?" she asked, sounding completely confused and not the slightest bit angry. "I don't have a penis."

Kakashi choked a little on his drink at how sincere her comment had sounded, but decided he should clarify the question. "He wants to know how you lost your virginity."

"Oh!" Sakura replied, her voice soft in understanding. And then with a few waves of her hand, she added, "Same manner as Sai, penis, vagina."

She was too drunk to tell them anything they concluded. But Naruto didn't seem to realize that.

"What do you mean 'penis, vagina'?"

Sakura's eyes cleared for a moment, and even Naruto was starting to wonder just how drunk she was. And then she got up and walked around the table. She stopped beside Naruto and leaned forward to whisper into his ear.

"Naruto, if you don't know how to have sex, I have some medical text books that can help you. Or you can borrow my Icha Icha. Wait, I have one with me."

Before Naruto could clear up her misinterpretation of his question, Sakura pulled out a familiar orange book and slid into his lap. She flipped it open to a depiction of a naked woman, and started describing, in basic medical terminology, the female anatomy.

The Hokage-wannabe fell mute the moment she implied that he didn't know how to have sex. And his IQ dropped off significantly when she pulled out her well-worn copy of Icha Icha and started to clinically dissect the different parts of the female form. His IQ plummeted when she began to explain how and when to stimulate such parts during a sexual encounter.

When Sakura started hashing out different ways to give a female partner an orgasm, Kakashi had heard enough. He was aroused to the point of discomfort just from her silky voiced descriptions, and he was having a hard time keeping his physical reactions and desires to himself.

"All right, Sakura," the Copy Nin coaxed. "I think that Naruto has had enough of a lesson for today."

Without waiting for a reply, he stood up and pulled her out of Naruto's lap.

"Let's get you home," he continued.

"But I haven't even gotten up to penetration," the pink-haired medic whined. "Don't you think that is important to basic sex education?"

Kakashi just chuckled at her sincere concern, and explained, "Naruto doesn't need basic sex ed. I am pretty sure that Jiraiya has already seen to that."

"Are you sure?" she replied, clearly still skeptical.

"Positive."

Her head bobbed up and down in acceptance, and she reached her hand out to take Kakashi's while her other hand went behind her to discretely pass off her copy of Icha Icha to Naruto.

Naruto chuckled at her attempt to get one past the most observant ninja in the village, and pushed her book back at her. Taking the hint, Sakura slid the book into her medic pouch at the small of her back, and cutely tilted her head at Kakashi.

"Can I have one more drink before I have to go home?"

"No," he replied, quickly pulling her flush against his body and transporting them back to his apartment. "I need to try out a few things I learned tonight."

"But I didn't get to penetration," a rather sober Sakura teased, her drunken facade falling away before she pulled a rather shocked copy nin into a very thorough kiss.

* * *

A/N: Ah, the art of misdirection. She's just like a magician.


	21. Q Questions

Q – Questions

"What?" Sakura asked, as she glanced up from her copy of Icha Icha to return Kakashi's stare.

"I didn't say anything," he replied, tilting his head back down towards the pages of his own dirty novel.

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh. "You may not have said anything, but you've been staring at me for the past fifteen minutes. It's very distracting and starting to border on creepy."

The Copy Nin remained silent, his eyes glued to the page. But Sakura knew he wasn't reading since his eye was immobile.

A playful half-smile worked its way onto Sakura's face as she sat up and crawled across the well-worn sofa to where Kakashi was situated, his bare feet comfortably propped up on the coffee table in front of him.

Kakashi risked flicking his eyes up to gauge his lover's approach, and found himself mesmerized by her. Her face was aglow with mischief, her porcelain skin shown in his sun-lit living room, her well-trained arm muscles danced beneath her skin, and her breasts pressed taught against the low neck-line of her pajama tank top.

"Do you watch me sleep too?" she asked, removing his book from his limp grasp and placing on the coffee table with hers. Moving his hands to her hips, she straddled his lap and rubbed her face against his bare chest as if marking him with her scent.

The Copy Nin swallowed hard, and unconsciously began to toy with the elastic waist band of her panties.

"Maybe," he replied, with a wistful laugh.

Her fingers ran down his chest to toy with the drawstring of his cotton sweat pants. But her eyes moved up to meet his.

"I like it when you look at me," she said softly, as she gave him a timid smile. He wasn't used to such soft expressions from his hell-cat lover, and couldn't help but feel his heart swell in reaction to this new side she was exposing.

Her lips pressed softly to his in a chaste kiss, and she pulled away before it could become anything more than a simple brushing of their lips.

"You don't need a reason," she added.

"But I have one."

Sakura tilted her head in question, and the sun caught her hair and caused it to glisten.

Combing his fingers through her pink hair and dragging them down to cup her cheek, he whispered, "I love you."

She only smiled, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Do you really have to ask?"

Her lips found his before he could reply, and she went quickly from a soft teasing of lips to a deep expression of her desire for him. Her lips left his. Her eyelids were at half-mast and her eyes were dark with passion.

"Sakura," he groaned, shifting beneath her. He swallowed his growing desire, and playfully asked, "I think you are avoiding the question."

She shook her head trying to clear her clouded head. "What?"

"Tell me you love me," he asked.

"I'd rather show you," she purred, leaning back, peeling off her thin tank top, revealing her porcelain skin and full breasts.

"Tell me," he repeated, groaning as she reached up and cupped her breasts.

"Why?" she teased. "Can't you tell how much I love it when you squeeze me?"

Her hands began to firmly knead the flesh with her fingers, her eyes sliding shut in satisfaction.

"Can't you tell I love it when you touch me all over?"

She let go over her breasts, and trailed one hand down her stomach and the other up the side of her neck.

"Can't you tell I love it when you find just that right spot?"

Her long tapered fingers slid over her panties to brush against her folds through the thin satin material. And then the teasing smile slid off her face, and left her face painted with vulnerability.

"Can't you tell I love it when I wake up beside you and I know you've watched me in my sleep even though you pretend to rouse after me?"

She took her hands off her own body, and placed his hands over her heart.

"Can't you tell I love it how my heart speeds up when you walk into a room or flash a special look my way?"

She moved his hands so his arms would wrap around her. She leaned into his embrace.

"Can't you tell that I love how this makes me feel at peace, something I never thought I would feel again?"

She locked her eyes with his.

"I love you," she said and sealed it with a kiss.


	22. J Joy

It's been awhile.

Rated M. Secondary warning: you may want some wine with this cheese.

J – Joy

"Forehead!" Ino shouted as she ran out of the tree line and onto the flat plain of the training grounds to crash Team Kakashi's morning sparring session.

Sakura jumped away from where she was locked in a short-sword fight with Sai. She swiped her wrist across her forehead to wipe away the sweat that had gathered at her brow and to subconsciously wipe away the sting of her old nickname.

"Yeah, Pig?" she asked, as she tried to calm her breathing, and made her way towards her blond friend.

"Great news," Ino shouted back with her excitement reflected her huge grin and flushed cheeks.

"Oh?" Sakura replied flatly, not sure whether the news was worth having her morning exercise interrupted. A few more minutes and she was certain that she would have been able to wear down Sai enough to finally force him to admit defeat. Or at least, she thought she could.

"I'm pregnant!" Ino replied, jolting Sakura from her dreams of victory.

Sakura's jaw dropped open and her eyes bugged out in surprise. It took a moment for the fact that her best friend was expecting to sink in, but when it did she couldn't help but smile and get a little teary. In fact, she was so moved she forced her normally fastidious friend into a sweaty hug. And Ino couldn't help but surprise Sakura again when she returned the hug before pulling away.

"That's amazing, Ino. I had no idea you and Choji were even trying to get pregnant. You only got engaged last month, right? Is that why?"

"Nope, total accident," she said, the smile belying her pleased opinion on the matter.

"Oh," Sakura said a bit skeptically, before asking the niggling question in the back of her mind, "But aren't contraceptive injections mandatory for all kunoichi not registered for family planning?"

"Yup. Looks like I got some of the dud batch."

"Dud batch?" Sakura felt her knees grow weak. "What do you mean by 'dud batch'?"

"Hokage-sama messed up when she was making the contraceptive injections last month. In fact, Shizune found out she was pregnant just yesterday. Which means we may have gotten lucky, and it was only the female medics that got some of the bum supply. We can't lose all of our kunoichi to maternity leave, right?"

"Oh god," Sakura said, her knees finally failing her. When her ass hit the ground, her teammates finally took the initiative to approach the two usually volatile women that when combined often became explosive.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto shouted, reaching out to touch her shoulders.

Her head turned slowly and in a blank face she muttered, "Dud batch. Maternity leave. I am going to kill her."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, as Sakura's words made no sense to him.

"I have to go," she replied. She shook Naruto's grip off, stood up a bit shakily, and walked into the forest on jellied legs. "Congratulations, Ino," she called over her shoulder before disappearing into the woods.

"Well that was rude," Ino said, her pout causing the men of Team Kakashi to take an involuntary step backwards to avoid the fallout of any further outrage. But Ino just smiled, and turned to the men and said, "Spread the word, I'm pregnant. And you can tell Choji that I got to you first!"

Without further ado, Ino left the training grounds to hunt down more of her friends to tell her excellent news.

* * *

Sakura found herself at the pharmacy down the block from her apartment staring at their bright pink selection of home pregnancy exams.

"Fucking pink boxes," she muttered, grabbing the brand that promised "99.9% accuracy." With a mind of its own, her hand reached out and grabbed a second and then a third box, just in case.

Sakura bought the tests and made her way home in a daze, and the next thing she knew she was standing in her bathroom with one of the pregnancy test boxes on the sink, directions face-up.

"Take off cap, pee on stick, re-cap, wait, read window. Not difficult. I can do this." Her hands shook as she opened the package and pulled out the test. "I can do this."

* * *

Sakura was tearing open the third box, when she heard Kakashi call her name from her living room.

"I'm in the bathroom," she shouted back, before opening the door.

"And why precisely are you inviting me into the bathroom? Sexy shower time?" Kakashi teased, as he poked his head into the door. Only he wasn't expecting to see Sakura's usually spotless, blue and white tiled bathroom floor to be littered with cardboard boxes, tiny paper instruction manuals, half a box of used tissues, a nearly empty pitcher of water, and a falling apart pink-haired kunoichi.

"Sakura?"

She pulled out the third test from its cardboard home and shook it at him. "I need to take another test, but I can't pee anymore. I drank all this water," she pointed the plastic stick at the pitcher, "and nothing."

"I'm sure you'll have to use the bathroom in no time," he said in a soft, talk-you-down-from-the-ledge voice, before taking the plastic stick and the box out of her hands. He glanced down at the crushed cardboard, and finally realized why Sakura was so distraught.

He slowly raised his head and met her gaze. They stared at each other for what felt like hours, but was little more than a minute, before Sakura had to turn her face away.

"The first two came up positive," she told the toilet.

Kakashi felt a lump forming in his throat. He tried to swallow past it, but he couldn't.

"So I need to be able to pee to take this one," Sakura said, grabbing the plastic stick back from his loose grip. "Like they say, third times a charm. So it will surely be negative. And then I can go on pretending like this never happened._ We_ can go on like this never happened."

"Sakura," Kakashi whispered, "it's not going to be negative."

"Don't jinx it! Get out! Go warm up some sake, and we can celebrate me not being pregnant right after I am done with this."

Before Kakashi could protest, Sakura shoved him out the door, slammed the door in his face, and locked the door. Knowing that the lock was not going to keep the Copy Ninja out of her bathroom, she did a rapid set of hand seals and pulsed her chakra through the door-frame to seal the room with a jutsu she learned that all of the Hokages used to seal their chambers at night to prevent assassination attempts while they slept.

"Shit," she heard Kakashi mutter, as her jutsu blocked his attempt to pick her bathroom lock. "Come on Sakura, just let me in."

"Why, to hold my hand when I pee? I'll be out as soon as possible."

"Fine," he replied, despite not having much choice in the matter. "But I could hold your hand while you wait for the results."

"Not necessary."

Kakashi pressed his forehead to the cool wood of the door. He held his breath as he listened for any signs of distress. He released the breath as he heard the toilet flush. A quick glance at the wall clock in Sakura's living room told him he had three minutes before shit would hit the fan. His eyes stayed riveted to the second hand as it counted down 180 clicks. His breath held again.

The jutsu fell from the door, and Kakashi stood up straight as he heard Sakura unlock the door. When she didn't open the door to come out, he opened it to go in.

Sakura's hands were pressed down on the cool porcelain of her sink, her head bowed, her pink bangs blocking her face.

"Sakura, let me see."

She passed the plastic stick that was sitting on counter between her hands over her shoulder.

Kakashi looked at the plus sign and knew that it meant that Sakura was pregnant. She was going to have a baby. His baby. She had spent every night for the past three months in his bed. And he couldn't be happier that now he not only had Sakura, but he would have a child with her as well.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair.

"I love you," he whispered. "Never doubt that I love you."

"I don't. But this wasn't part of the plan."

"What plan?" he asked, glad that his smirk was hidden in the pink hair that he loved so much.

"The plan. You know, I have a career. I am a kunoichi. I can't just give that up."

"Who's asking you to?"

Kakashi felt Sakura stiffen in response to his words. And then she turned, pushed his arms away from her sides, and stepped back as far as she could to give them some distance. In this position, her back was pressed a little too firmly into the rim of her pedestal sink to be comfortable, and she used the minor ache that was beginning to form in her lower back to anchor herself.

"I can't be what I am and still be a mother. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I've come within a hair's-breadth from death. And you," she shouted, stabbing her finger into his chest, "how many lives do you have left to give to the village? Do you have any to spare for a family?"

As if she was just realizing what she said, she moaned and turned to the side so she could double over at the waist. "Oh god, this will never work. We can't do this."

"Sakura, you're panicking."

"Damn right, I'm panicking. Why the hell are you so calm?"

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her upright to look her in the eyes.

"I am calm because I'm trying to hide how ecstatic I am. Remember Ino from this morning? I would be happier than her at this news, if you weren't in the middle of having a massive panic attack. I don't need to convince myself that this is a good thing. I need to convince you."

"So convince me, dammit!"

The fear had managed to leech out of her system, and Kakashi couldn't help but become aroused by the fire that burned in her eyes.

His mask was gone before she could blink, and his mouth was pressed to hers before she could resist his advance.

Sakura was quickly swept up into his frenzied passion, and she found herself drowning in his hard, drugging kisses. When he pressed his body into hers to feel her body against his, she let out a soft moan of pain due to the return of the pressure of the sink against her lower back.

He didn't waste a breath, and reach down to lift her up onto the sink. Sakura followed his lead, and wrapped her legs around his waist to align their hips. The feeling of her hot center pressed against him had him pulling away from her mouth to let out a low groan.

"I'm too old for this shit," he said as his mouth made its way down her neck. Between his open mouthed kisses and gentle bites that he knew would drive her wild, he told her, "I'll take a desk job, a real nine to five. We'll get day care during the day, and I'll watch the kiddies at night. You don't have to give up anything."

"Desk job? Kiddies?" she asked between moans. She let her fingers pull down the zipper of Kakashi's jonin vest, and push the vest off of his shoulders.

He tore her shirt open, straight down from collar to hem. His hands palmed her lace-covered breasts, pausing only to let her pull his shirt off. His lips tugged at her nipples through the soft lace of her bra.

"Tsunade wants me to take over for her until Naruto is ready to become Hokage," he replied, his mouth returning to hers as his hands removed what was left of her shirt along with her lacy bra. His hands moved down to trace her slit and to firmly rub her clit through her black spandex shorts.

"And if you let me, we'll have a whole brood of pink-haired, lazy ninja brats," he continued.

Sakura unfastened his pants and freed him from his boxers.

"Where will we live?" she panted, stroking him harder than most would like, but just like he loved.

"We'll buy a house. Your pick. You see, I am actually quite rich," he replied with a devastatingly sexy smirk. His hands dragged off her shorts and panties in one go.

"Cheapskate," she muttered with a smile, before hooking her ankles behind his hips to pull him up against her again.

He couldn't resist the feel of her wetness pressed against his length, and he fought to maintain his logic.

"Let me," he begged, rubbing the head of his cock teasingly against her clit. "Please, let me."

"I want you inside," she whispered, taking his lips and pouring her love, anxiety and fear into her kiss. She pulled away and captured his face between her hands. She waited until his eyes were on hers, so he would know that she meant what she said. "Inside of my heart. Make me a home."

And he slid into her, and whispered, "You are my home. Let me be yours."

Tears slid down her cheeks, and she knew that everything would be okay. She and Kakashi were going to have a baby, their very own tiny little bundle of joy, and it was going to be okay. Or at least it would be for Sakura and Kakashi. Tsunade, on the other hand, had a few things to answer for: like how she just happened to mess up the contraceptive injections for the three women in the village that she cared about the most. Accident? Coincidence? Not likely.


End file.
